


Champagne Supernova

by iamamiwhoami



Series: Wonderwall [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adventure, AgentCorp, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Dancing, F/F, Falling In Love, Fighting, First Kiss, First Love, Five Days, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, Idiots in Love, Oasis, Science Girlfriends, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21809293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamamiwhoami/pseuds/iamamiwhoami
Summary: When sent for an experience at a renowned institution as punishment for fighting in the school, the young Alexandra Danvers would expect anything but for her to fall in love.
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Wonderwall [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584280
Comments: 18
Kudos: 107





	Champagne Supernova

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LaraEl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaraEl/gifts).



> Hey guys... I started this many months ago and it took me too long to finish it. A friend asked for a High School agentcorp and I think I ended up getting very excited about it. Lara, thank you for always pushing me into these magical ideas.
> 
> What I like most about youth, I would say... Is the infinity of all things. This was meant to be sweet, fun and with a little bit of anguish. I hope you enjoy it and wish you a good reading.
> 
> As usual, english is not my native language. Thank you for your kindness and patience.
> 
> P.S.: Totally inspired by "Champagne Supernova", Oasis.

Midvale High was what could be called a "peaceful place." Two old dark brick buildings made up the structure full of yellowed glass windows; the grass of the courtyard was damp and the oaks around the estate were over ninety years old. The cafeteria and hallways floor was grimy concrete and the classrooms were wood sling off the ground with a good kick. The wooden colored stands of the sports field were exactly the same as the seats of the amphitheater. Rustic aspect, yes, but filled with talented and dreamy minds, where peace reigned most of the time and the bonds of friendship were strong and unbreakable.  
  
Of course... When _she_ wasn't getting in trouble.  
  
It happened that Friday at lunchtime and all the students cheered, exclaimed, banged their fists on the tables and crowded in a large circle. There were drops of blood on her brown hair and denim jacket, and a tear in the pants on her reddened right knee, plus a bruise growing on the right side of her face. But she was smiling and completely ignoring the calls of the little blonde in the glasses, the boy with the lap top under his left arm and the loud thundering quarterback.  
  
"You bitch!" Shouted Ben Lockwood from the floor, his mate cringing writhing hugging his ribs. "I think you broke my nose, you psycho!"  
  
"Say again what you were saying about my sister, you piece of shit, and I'll broke the rest of your jelly bones!"  
  
"It's nobody's fault that she's so weird!" He barked back.  
  
Alexandra Danvers simply couldn't help it. She could feel her blood boiling, her hands shaking, her heart racing, she could only see red and set off in defense of her foster sister. Her sister simply. It has happened in the middle of football semifinals, in the cafeteria, at the entrance, at the exit, in the calculus class, and even on the day the whole school enjoyed a day at the beach. A single word about Kara and she jumped automatically and fearlessly into the attack.  
  
She dropped to her knees on the cafeteria floor again and prepared to punch Lockwood's teeth once more as the deafening alarm echoed and the students began to disperse, thundering quarterback James Olsen warning that the principal was coming.  
  
"Back to your classrooms!" Ordered Hank Henshaw. "All of you, now!" The crowd followed obediently, but Alex was prevented from escaping by the heavy hand that landed like a sentence on her shoulder. "Except you, Miss Danvers. And you two on the floor, go to the ward and then to my office. Follow me, Miss Danvers!"  
  
Alex snorted and rolled her eyes, but took her backpack from the arm of Winslow Schott Jr., the lap top boy, avoiding her sister's guilty, worried look, waving and bowing the three with a black eye and her hair stained with her opponent's blood. There was no reason to be upset or bothered, the deal had become practically part of everyday life. The idiots tease or mock Kara, she kicks their asses, Henshaw would lecture on inappropriate behavior and cope with complex situations without violence, she would be put to polish the trophy room or any community service around the buildings and everything would go on as if nothing had happened.  
  
She threw herself into the chair as if she were on her own couch, carefree, intimately, she had everything under control. Hank Henshaw propped the back of his hands under his chin, his black suit gleaming with the sun's rays streaming through the large office window, and the ticking of the english clock walked like the only sound in the room. The principal seemed to ponder something of great importance, narrowing his eyes at her, quietly stamping a foot under his desk, sighing in exhaustion.  
  
"What should I supposed to do with you?"  
  
"Look the other way, as you always do, because you and my parents have been friends for ages and you don't want to see me becoming a juvenile delinquent?" She smiled almost angelically.  
  
"I'm serious about this, Alex." He gave no room for jokes. "You've gone too far this time."  
  
"Too far?" She stood abruptly, the chair scraping the wooden floor. "What about those assholes? You didn't hear what they were saying about my sister. It's your responsibility to make her feel safe and welcome here, so why don't you get off my back and start doing your job?" The desk top shuddered as she slammed her fists against it, her face reddening.  
  
"You finished?" Hank raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.  
  
"Yes." She rolled her eyes and dropped into the chair again.  
  
"You have energy, Alex, and you're very clever. I admire that. Your father was not much different when we were children. But you use this energy in an aggressive and unacceptable behavior."  
  
The word unacceptable was scary under the circumstances.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean you need a severe and different punishment at this point."  
  
She swallowed and the pain in her face seemed to finally hit her. "What punishment?"  
  
In that moment, Hank Henshaw broke into the most devilish smile she had ever seen.  
  
  
  
They all looked at each other around a large oak tree on the vast lawn, backpacks, confused looks exchanged in the inexplicable silence. Kara adjusted her glasses anxiously, Winn opened his laptop to find a game and distracted himself, Dox loosened his tie and joined him, Nia punctuating her article with a pencil like a weapon of war, Lucy lit a cigarette and sighing impatiently, Sam settled back into the tree trunk and opened a copy of Sandman comics and James turned his head down, passing the ball between his big hands.  
  
"So..." Lucy blew the smoke unpretentiously, crossing her arms with her natural elegance. "Does anyone know why we're all gathered here or...?"  
  
"It looks like Alex called everyone." Sam glanced around the group.  
  
It's not like they haven't been together all the time, but never because Alex has summoned each of them to an urgent situation. Kara was the most apprehensive, silent among them, wondering if her sister's call had anything to do with the chaos in the hallway earlier.  
  
Nia walked over to her and hugged her from behind, pinning her arms to her body and resting her chin on her shoulder. "You'll break the glasses if you keep doing that."  
  
"She should be here already." The little blonde sighed.  
  
"She's always late." Winn shrugged. "Remember that day we set up a surprise birthday party for her and she arrived three hours later than expected because she decided a rainy day was good for surfing?" Everyone's eyes widened, but the boy kept going. “And she didn't even have the decency to get cleaned up, remember? She arrived all soaked and soiled with sand and dropped the plank on her own foot when we turned on the lights, I mean, she didn't know, but Kara had disguised it with the excuse of a family dinner, she should at least have..."  
  
"Winn..." James cleared his throat.  
  
"Come on, she could have appeared earl..."  
  
"Winn!" The quarterback warned again, but it was too late.  
  
Winn only had time to feel the slight gust of wind before a fiery slap echoed at the back of his neck, causing him to jump and whimper, almost knocking over the laptop, supported by Dox's clumsy arms. Alex was right behind him, her hands on her hips, her eyes irritated under the remaining swelling of the fight that morning.  
  
"Ouch!" He shouted belatedly. "No one taught you not to sneak up beating on people?"  
  
"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I broke you like I did with those idiots."  
  
"That's my girl." Lucy winked at her.  
  
"Okay, children..." Sam closed the book and stood up, arching her eyebrows. "Will you tell us the mystery of this meeting?"  
  
"Yes, my dear friend, I'm fine after having my face screwed up and listening to a major lecture from the principal, thanks for asking."  
  
"It's not like it's the first time." Always the most mature in the group, Sam smiled sincerely. "We weren't so worried until you practically sent an S.O.S."  
  
"He kicked you out?" Tears welled in Kara's eyes and Alex wanted to hit herself for not explaining right away. "It's all my fault!"  
  
"No, he didn't kick me out." She moved forward to hold her youngest sister in a tight hug. "I would rather have been expelled, though."  
  
"What happened there?" Dox clasped his hands behind his back, curious.  
  
"Well..." Strangely, she blushed. "Hank didn't kick me out. He didn't even give me a suspension. Not even detention."  
  
"You always get away with it." Lucy mocked.  
  
"Look who's talking, daddy Colonel's daughter."  
  
"A Colonel who is not Jeremiah Danvers's best friend." She finished her cigarette and threw the butt into an isolated bin behind them with perfect aim, smiling contentedly. "Spill it, Danvers."  
  
It seemed an eternity until she had the courage to tell her friends Hank's chosen punishment. She could barely admit to herself, undecided between laughing at the overwhelming irony of everything or crying in disgust.  
  
"I'm sleepy." Nia leaned against James' shoulder as if he were a soft mattress of muscles.  
  
"Come on, buddy." Winn patted Alex gently on the back. "You got this. And we got you."  
  
Alex sighed and chewed her shame, shrugging in defeat, all anxious eyes fixed on her next words. "Hank will send me for three days to the H.I.V.E. Academy next week."  
  
The creeping silence was almost lethal, but the next blast was the height of humiliation, making her cover her face with her hands and growl. The group laughed so loudly that birds fled in fear from the large oak tree above them. Sam and Kara twisted their lips to keep from laughing and Nia looked still half asleep, moving from James to the blonde's shoulder, but she couldn't help smiling. Dox was analyzing the situation, but suddenly began to laugh out loud as James, Lucy, and Winn practically rolled on the grass, their bellies aching with the unbridled scandal.  
  
"Oh my god, shut up, this is the fucking best day of my fucking life!" Lucy dried the happy tears with the back of her hand.  
  
"Go on." Alex crossed her arms furiously. "You can laugh, you traitors."  
  
"H.I.V.E. Academy..." Sam was obviously secretly wondering if the punishment was as bad as Alex made it seem, considering how much she cared about what might happen if her friend kept getting in trouble. It was an institution with zero tolerance for violence and bullying, the most expensive and fancy school in town, and maybe it would do well for the redhead to get out of the bubble. "It's only three days. What harm can it do?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" Winn huffed. "If we lived in a jungle, it would be like putting a lion in a lake of... I don't know, flamingos?"  
  
"If we lived in comics, it would be like putting a daxamite at a kryptonian gala." Dox added with a smile.  
  
"Jeez, take it easy on the insults." Alex's wide eyes showed she was serious.  
  
"What did you say to him?" Nia asked still with her eyes closed, leaning on Kara's shoulder.  
  
"That I had to stay around to protect Kara." She admitted easily. "But it didn't work, so I summoned you here to promise to take care of her while I'm suffering in confinement with a bunch of dukes and duchess babys."  
  
"I don't need to be protected." Kara ran up to her and took her hands, Nia almost falling face down on the grass, happily supported by Sam's arms. "Defending me from those boys is what put you in this mess in the first place. Let go and they'll sooner or later stop."  
  
"My fists will make them stop."  
  
"Alex..."  
  
"Here's the deal." Lucy interrupted the discussion, fire in her eyes as she pointed a finger at redhead's face. "We will enjoy the weekend together and then you're going to stay in that hell for three days and then come back with the lie that the place was good for you, and we'll find a way to deal with the jerks without Hank catching us. We're not losing you because you can't control your rage. Are we clear?"  
  
"Crystal clear." Alex nodded obediently.  
  
Lucy rolled her eyes and hugged her. "That's my girl."  
  
  
  
Unfortunately, H.I.V.E. Academy was exactly what she predicted. A seven-winged building, each with a long tower of fairy tales, bricks so polished they almost glowed, as well as the marble floor, post-top lantern poles from Harry Potter books, windows like spooky Gothic stained glass and gardens. so huge they formed almost a freaking maze. There were chimneys, which indicated that the place probably had communal rooms with fireplaces where those diamond teenagers probably shared their plans for summer holidays in Europe. She almost feared stepping into the lobby and someone shouting that she was dirtying the damn marble. Those black uniforms, red ties, white shirts and shiny boots were making her sick and maybe she would have fainted if an arm didn't suddenly weigh on her shoulder and an annoying voice echoed in her ears.  
  
"Alexandra Danvers, right?" A boy appeared beside her with a goofy smile and cologne smell. "Michael Matthews, but to you I'm Mike. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Will you get your hands off me, please?" She backed away defensively, almost tripping over a column of golden arabesques at the edges.  
  
"Wow, calm down, kitty!" He raised his arms in surrender. "I was chosen to show you around. You're kinda cute, I think we'll get along."  
  
She rolled her eyes and quickly escaped the sticky boy in the crowd. She tried to play cool, walking as slowly as the other students, even though she found it impossible for her to mingle. The only comfort was that she would study calculus and biology for the rest of the day, at least a little familiarity. Everything there smelled of money and she felt suffocated in a world so different from hers.  
  
Classes were simple, they weren't far ahead of Midvale High, but the teachers were much more severe, impersonal, and demanding. All the students were silent and raised their hands to ask permission if they wanted to ask a question. She shrank back in her chair for the first period and waited for the three days to pass in the blink of an eye so she could return to her friends.  
  
It wasn't as she imagined, however.  
  
In the cafeteria, she felt all eyes on her. It was the perfect excuse to grab her sandwich and soda and hide in the aisles under the borrowed closet until the nightmare was over. Strangely, there were three girls in the same corridor, two chattering with each other and the other plunged with a copy of Galen open in her lap, long brown hair covering her face. They wore exactly the same uniform, but the book's girl had a gleaming pearl necklace that should have cost more than Alex's mother's car.  
  
"Let's go to business." One of the girls, a short brunette with a Spanish accent, squeezed their thighs. Alex watched them from afar, feigning disinterest. "Have you been invited to the ball? Russell invited me this morning." She laughed excitedly and turned to the other talking girl. "Your turn, Imra!"  
  
"Mike Matthews invited me." Imra scowled in disgust. "I've been trying to get rid of him for days."  
  
"Tell him that you are allergic to douche ankle-biters."  
  
"Andrea!" Imra laughed scandalized, pushing the other girl over the third.  
  
The shorter one, Andrea, turned smiling at the book's girl. "Lena..." The girl didn't move from reading. "Le-e-e-e-na... Come on, baby. I bet Jack invited you with flowers and everything..."  
  
The book's girl, Lena, finally lifted her head, leaning back exhausted in the lockers, her face in full display. Alex sees green eyes and it's as if the entire luxurious hallway suddenly brightens and becomes humble and precarious at the sight of those eyes. "I'm not interested in Jack Spheer." She speaks softly.  
  
"But he invited you...?"  
  
"He... Tried?" She squinted and smiled adorably.  
  
"Did you dump him?" Andrea widened her eyes proudly.  
  
"Oh damn..." Imra muttered pouting. "I would die to see his face!"  
  
"I didn't dump him." Lena sighed and closed the book. "I told him the truth. In a week I'll be..."  
  
"Hey you!" The hallway doors echoed sharply open, and Alex was awakened from the book's girl trance to find Mike Matthews and two big wardrobe guys following him. "How dare you make me look like a clown alone in the lobby?!"  
  
Alex got up quietly, tossing her backpack on her back and wiping bread crumbs from her denim jacket as if she wanted to tease the immaculate marble. "Maybe it's because you are one."  
  
"What?" He frowned.  
  
"A clown. You're a clown."  
  
Giggles sounded in the hallway and she turned to see the three girls watching the scene. Andrea and Imra were responsible for the laughter, but Lena watched stoically and silently.  
  
"Now you embarrass me in front of my girl!"  
  
"I'm not your girl!" Imra stopped laughing immediately.  
  
"Listen..." Alex sighed tiredly, rolling her eyes. "I'll only be around for three days. Stay out of my way and I'll be out of yours."  
  
She turned to leave as if nothing had happened, but suddenly she felt the pressure of two strokes on her back, a push that sent her straight to the floor.  
  
"What the hell, Matthews?!" Andrea exclaimed in horror.  
  
"I'll get the principal Grant." Imra ran toward the stairs at the end of the hallway.  
  
When Alex looked up, completely dizzy, feeling the trail of blood running down her nose, despite the blurry vision she saw bright boots approaching fast and sweet scent filling her senses, a distant book abandoned near the lockers, and the owner of it, Lena, helping her to her feet.  
  
"Leave her there, Luthor, in the ground, where she belongs!" Mike spat.  
  
"Enough, Matthews." She ordered composed.  
  
"Oh, yeah..." He patted his thugs' chest and laughed. "I should have guessed you're the merciful type. Aren't you a little orphan yourself that the Luthor took to the street like a dog?"  
  
The expression that cut Lena's face unleashed something inside Alex, as if she remembered Kara, who was adopted eight years ago by the Danvers, the same eyes of pain and abandon and confusion. She pulled away from Lena's arms that were holding her upright and threw herself at the boys, punching Mike in the jaw and causing him to trip and fall immediately. The other two held her while the third howled in pain, pushing her to the floor and preparing to give change. The book's girl inexplicably ran and fell to her knees before them, trying to pull Alex with her, asking them to stop.  
  
Alex barely had time to register the appeal when a punch that one of the guys was about to hit her went straight to the girl's pale face, blood also quickly slipping from her nose and a high-pitched scream echoing. The redhead could almost feel the girl's body shuddering under hers.  
  
 _"What on the blasted holly earth is happening here?!”_  
  
High heels clicked on the marble and the shrill, powerful voice made them all stop. Andrea and Imra appeared huddled behind a short, intimidating and incredulous blonde woman, hands on hips, elegant clothes, the principal Alex remembers Hank calling Catherine Grant. As soon as they saw the book's girl on the floor, they left safe territory behind the woman to help their injured friend.  
  
“It's all this crazy girl's fault!” Mike pointed angrily at Alex, who rolled her eyes for the thousandth time on that infernal day.  
  
Catherine Grant ran her psychoanalyst eyes over the young ones. Imra wiped Lena's bloody nose with a handkerchief and Andrea rubbed her trembling arms protectively. Alex tried not to stare at her, impatiently tapping the soles of her boots on the floor, ignoring her own blood drying from nose to chin. The three thugs seemed the safest and most carefree.  
  
“Care to explain yourself, Miss Danvers?” She fixed her eyes on Alex.  
  
The redhead shrugged. "Whatever."  
  
Miss Grant didn't appreciate the answer, but her shrewd smile was almost unnerving. "I finally understand at this valuable moment what Henshaw meant." She walked around Alex in disappointed analysis. "Either you use brute force or you completely ignore the problem." And stopped again to fix her eyes on the guilty faces. “But neither you nor any other student will use violence under any kind of subterfuge in my Academy. The Hierarchy of Institutional Vision and Excellence has been the most prestigious school in the state and will soon be in the country, and I won't allow troublemakers to interfere with this process.” She put her hands on her hips again, her voice harsh and unquestionable. “Am I making myself clear?”  
  
They all nodded their heads, not even Alex managing to escape the command.  
  
"Miss Rojas and Miss Ardeen, back in the cafeteria and do not leave until the alarm sounds for the next period."  
  
Andrea and Imra looked saddened at Lena, furious at the trio of boys and strangely suspicious at Alex.  
  
“Wonderful.” Miss Grant nodded as they left. "Mr. Matthews and his friends, wait in my office, where I will soon be signing your suspensions."  
  
"Suspension?!" Mike exclaimed, ignoring the pain in his face. "You can't do this!"  
  
"You're fortunate I won't expell you, little prince. Stop wasting my time testing your luck and my patience and take your privileged licked hair to my office. If you value your stay here, don't make me repeat."  
  
The boys looked at Alex as if to say that the subject was far from over, but she missed the chance to respond with a sassy smile or a middle finger, for now she was watching the book's girl, still downcast and upset. her friend's handkerchief on her nose. It was as if she were finally coming to her senses and realizing that the girl had tried to save her from those idiots.  
  
"As for you two..." Miss Grant raised an eyebrow. "Detention for the rest of the day."  
  
“What?!” Lena's eyes watered wide, her bloody nose in full display in the pallor of her horrified face.  
  
“No, wait, Miss Grant, please!” Alex stepped between the girl and the principal as a shield, speaking decently for the first time since she stepped in that school. “She didn’t do anything, this is all on me. She was just trying to help.”  
  
"If she wanted to help, she should have called me."  
  
"Her friends were already doing it, she was just trying to keep those guys from hurting me when those assholes hit her. Look, she seems a good girl and I don’t want t…"  
  
"I know exactly who she is, Miss Danvers, and Lena Luthor is my most promising and exemplary student. You two are brilliant, believe me, but what you lack in discipline, focus and determination, it overflows in her. And both you and her are grown enough to know that there are consequences for everything, good or bad. The sooner you learn this lesson, the better."  
  
“Miss Grant…” Alex intended to appeal again, but a sniff echoing in the hallway made her turn to the book's girl.  
  
Her eyes were red and Alex knew she was holding back tears with pain. “Your orders will be properly fulfilled, Miss Grant.”  
  
The principal flashed a different smile, as if she were a little proud and pitying about the girl's condition. "I want you two to go to the ward and then go to your detentions. And Miss Danvers?" She put the severe mask back on. "Try not to put yourself in any trouble along the way."  
  
The reason why they walked side by side in silence is inexplicable. And why they went in and out of the ward together with ice packs and clean spare shirts. They didn't talk all the time, squinting occasionally, as if making sure the other was still there.  
  
The detention room was as spotless as the rest of the place, and Alex almost rolled her eyes again, flinging herself into the nearest chair and snorting. At Midvale High they have this room with chewing gum and pencil messages on the tables and railings on the windows, not this sacred space with books and neutral colors and windows letting in a gentle breeze. At Midvale High they also have a supervising ninja, and the only third presence there was an old lady arranging the books on the shelves.  
  
When she got tired of staring at the ceiling, she turned to find the book's girl with a slight swelling where she got punched, no more blood or red eyes. But she was still downcast, as if that was the worst thing that could happen to her.  
  
"Relax." Alex couldn't help but advise. "This is probably not even going to be on your perfect record. You can cut the depressed mood."  
  
"Excuse me?" The girl raised her eyebrows, and only then did Alex notice how intimidating she was, despite the short height. "If you learned to be silent when it is wise to be silent, I would not be here, so do me a favor and spare me your philosophies."  
  
It was funny, almost. She sounded furious, but spoke so articulately that it confused the redhead.  
  
"You're welcome, by the way." Alex laughed wryly, remembering why the fight went out of control.  
  
"I did not ask you to defend me." Her liquid ice pack hit the table and she turned to face her, green eyes glittering dangerously.  
  
Fortunately this was Alexandra Danvers and Alexandra Danvers was not afraid of anything in the world. "But I did it anyway." Alex mirrored her gesture, but she could feel the dried blood marks above her upper lip. "Guys like him always get away with it and you were going to let him."  
  
"Do you think I like being called an adopted dog?"  
  
"I didn't say that..."  
  
"I've heard this insult countless times." She turned again, as if not wanting to let her see her expression, Alex guessing it must be pure pain. "What hasn't happened to me countless times, in fact, not once, it has been sent to detention. Thank you for standing up for me, now we can both leave each other alone."  
  
Alex couldn't say why she felt guilty, although she heard a thank you. The book's girl was tense and distant, and there was something around her, something like fear or a secret, too personal to ask. She found herself watching the girl, who quickly found a book and sank her face into it, the ticking of the clock reigning as the only sound after the old lady left. And suddenly she was completely facing the girl in the next chair, legs balancing crossed, elbow on her thighs, hands clenched under her jaw, the perfect observer of something she realized was truly beautiful.  
  
"Hey..." She started shyly. "I'm Alex."  
  
Surprisingly, the girl closed the book and smiled softly at her. "I know. The girl whose punishment for fighting is spending some time being tortured at Miss Grant's impeccable Academy."  
  
"Yeah..." Alex scratched the back of her neck, completely embarrassed.  
  
"And then, on your first day, you blow the nose of the first one that appears." She was still smiling like it was nothing weird.  
  
"Guilty." She shrugged and raised her hands in surrender.  
  
"This is..." As if she finally gave in, the girl dropped the book on the table and turned to her, her smile stealing the light from the room again. "Actually, pretty badass." A giggle sounds from parted lips and Alex finds herself staring at it. "I'm Lena."  
  
"I know." And she laughed with her, feeling a little foolish. "Miss Grant said you're the best, remember?"  
  
Lena didn't avoid an arrogant smile. "I will be a great scientist."  
  
"Really?" Alex was truly surprised. "Me too!" She got excited, not missing Lena's smile softening for her. "Or maybe a physician. Who knows?"  
  
"Well..." Lena pulled a rose-scented handkerchief from her skirt pocket. "At least we already know you have no problem with blood." She gently wiped the dried blood on her face.  
  
That was the starting point.  
  
They happen to have more in common than they would ever imagine. Not just an early appreciation for science, but also for classic horror movies, books people never catch on the shelves, the sea, Star Wars, and even whiskey they steal when their dads aren't around. Lena tells almost wordlessly the brief history of adoption, her father's affair, fame and business Luthor, and especially Lex, her beloved brother, and Alex cheers her up with memories of her childhood and Kara and how her parents encourage her to follow the science. She can swear that Lena's eyes shine once more when she tells about her passion for surfing.  
  
Connection is a strange word for both of them. Alex loves all her friends back at Midvale High, but except for Kara, she's not sure how much she understands this concept. Lena is even stranger to it, having only Lex as her best friend and a brief distant friendship with Andrea and Imra. But it seems a bit like a connection as the hours are crossed with laughter and the recognition of knowledge and shared fun.  
  
When the alarm sounded, they sprang from their seats as if awakening from a dream. Suddenly they looked shy, Alex taking the bag and Lena taking the book, both leaving the room and walking quietly down the halls to Lena's locker. In the lobby, however, unable to let that vibrant feeling go, Alex took off her denim jacket and threw it at Lena's shoulders, which widened her green eyes.  
  
The redhead just shrugged. "I'm going to sweat on my bike on my way home and it's getting cold. I'm sorry for the blood on your uniform."  
  
Lena blushed, arms tight around her books. "You were defending me. You have nothing to apologize for."  
  
Before Alex, also flushed, could answer, Cat Grant came up behind them in that same sleek, shrewd atmosphere of hers, hands on her hips, high heels clicking on the marble and blond curls dancing on her shoulders. "I see you two get along. Maybe we can leave this unfortunate episode in the past instead of your records."  
  
"Thank you, Miss Grant." Alex couldn't help a relieved sigh.  
  
"Miss Grant." Embraced in the books, Lena turned to her with determination and a wide smile. "I would like to be responsible for our visitor this week. I believe she has a lot to learn from the Academy and I would keep her out of trouble."  
  
"This is the Luthor I know and I'm proud of, what a productive idea!" Miss Grant nodded, smiling at Alex. "Looks like you're officially under surveillance, Miss Danvers. Enjoy it." And she disappeared among the other kids.  
  
Alone again, Lena smiled with unmistakable grace and Alex laughed at her unforeseen impulsiveness. "It looks like I'm stuck with you."  
  
"I guess you are." She shrugged. "You listened to Miss Grant. Enjoy it. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late, Miss Danvers, punctuality is the first requirement of this institution."  
  
She almost felt as if she'd been slapped in the nose again when Lena smiled devilishly and floated in perfect stride toward a cap man waving at her outside.  
  
Alex didn't sweat as her bike sped across the quiet streets of Midvale. In fact, it was a freaking cold, but her heart was beating so wildly, pulsing blood like a current inside her, she could be under a snowstorm without even noticing it.  
  
  
  
By nightfall, Hank was having dinner with the Danvers and Nia was doing an assignment with Kara when everyone was startled by their positive report of the Academy.  
  
"I can really learn a lot there." She chewed the meatloaf and shrugged casually. "Can we take this until the end of the week? Friday they'll have a party. Sounds cool. We only have dances once a year at Midvale High."  
  
Hank raised his eyebrows, but looked pleased. "If Miss Grant agrees, I'm more than willing to extend your experience at H.I.V.E., Alex. I'm proud of you.  
  
Eliza, her mother, smiled in agreement and Jeremiah, her father, raised his wineglass to greet her. The only stunned were Kara and Nia, who followed her with her eyes and then behind her as she whistled absently toward her room to sleep earlier than usual, as if she wanted the next day to come faster.  
  
"Where's your jacket?" Kara adjusted her glasses and questioned in confusion, because Alex never took off her denim jacket..  
  
"I must have forgotten there." She answered like it was nothing, locking the door.  
  
"This was... Okay?" Nia crossed her arms.  
  
"Is it me or she just trade us for that fancy school?" Kara pouted.  
  
"Maybe she found a new friend. Or a crush!"  
  
"After one day?" The little blonde snorted. "This is so not Alex..."  
  
"Well, she's helpless. Let's get back to work, I want to watch a movie right after."  
  
  
  
She could barely nail her eyes at night. She would take it to her grave, but she only had to blink and green eyes burst into her mind, the smile, the words. The book's girl. Everything she couldn't quite understand, like an intrusive thought that someone has for the first time in her life and feels all weird. At dawn on tuesday she took her bike with a toast hanging in her mouth and waved goodbye like she was late, but leaving almost half an hour early, leaving Kara intrigued and confused again.  
  
 _The book's girl..._  
  
She pedaled faster as she spotted the south tower in the distance.  
  
Except for the fact that she wore no uniform, no one would say she was a stranger there. She walked through the courtyards and gardens with almost easy familiarity, looking up at the girl from yesterday, hoping she wasn't a figment of her imagination, perhaps because her head was badly damaged from the punches she had already put on her face of the fights she got into.  
  
Fortunately, she was anything but a figment of imagination. And yet, seeing her in perspective through a bush of roses, talking calmly to Imra and Andrea, made Alex bet she was a living dream. She didn't want to interrupt the girls' conversation about how Imra was finally invited by who she really wanted to the dance, Gayle Marsh, who was drama club president and famous there for having a punk rock band, but she felt involuntarily floating in Lena's direction.  
  
"Hey, book's girl." She approached behind her, smiling like a child.  
  
Lena turned as if waiting for her, but frowned. "Book's girl?"  
  
"Oh." She realized that she had verbalized the secret nickname. "Yeah, you know, 'cause you were with a book on the hallway yesterday and I didn't knew your name and then you were reading before we fought and after we talked and then you had like a stack of books in your hands..." She fired uncontrollably, blushing unmistakably with her hands in her pants pocket torn on her knees. "Yeah. Something like that."  
  
Andrea tried to contain a scandalous laugh and Imra raised an eyebrow, nodding with amusement as Alex curled up in her own conversation. But Lena remained there, more books in her arms, her head tilted with a lovely smile at Alex's confusion of herself.  
  
"Can I walk you to math?" Lena ignored her mocking friends.  
  
"You better do it, or I'll probably get across the town and not find the room. Besides, you have to keep an eye on me." She joked with a shrug.  
  
"Obviously." Lena rolled her eyes, holding a smile the redhead wasn't deserving.  
  
"And..." Alex gave up, sighing and offering an arm for her to hold. "It would be my pleasure."  
  
Lena immediately accepted the offer and waved to her friends, and Alex felt the girls' curious eyes on their backs until they disappeared into the lobby. It got worse when they entered, all eyes and whispers seemed to be fixed on them, and she wondered if their interest was in her as new flesh or in Lena for some reason she didn't know.  
  
When she had barely said goodbye to Lena and entered the room and four kids surrounded her and started chattering at the same time with questions like _"Did you become friends with Lena Luthor after one day?"_ or _"Are you and Luthor dating?"_ and even _"Is it true that you broke Mike's teeth to protect Lena Luthor?"_ she figured out they're all interessed in Lena's personal life.  
  
Alex couldn't say she knew much about the Luthors, although Jeremiah and Lillian Luthor worked together in the past before she was born. She knows they have a lot of money and a lot of prestige. And apparently they all have an inclination to become great scientists. Lost in her thoughts rather than paying attention to the teacher and the numbers, she smiled to herself thinking that, although adopted, Lena also aspired to become a great scientist like her foster family.  
  
In fact, she spent a lot of time thinking about the book's girl.  
  
And even as the book's girl herself came to drag her to lunch, she kept thinking of her as she watched her back, her black hair billowing like clouds above her. They arrived in the cafeteria and all eyes returned to them, Imra and Andrea waving from the far corner. The weirdest thing was Lena looking at her as if trying to figure out if they should go or not. When Alex saw Mike Matthews dancing like a circus monkey on the table, the answer seemed obvious.  
  
"You know..." Lena looked shyly at the book in her hand. "No one showed you around. We have pretty gardens here."  
  
"I'm not much of a flower person." Alex joked. "But I heard you guys have an awesome maze."  
  
Lena smiled and waved back at the girls in refusal and they left the cafeteria before any explanation was asked. Now they walked in silence through the empty corridors and Alex was once again trapped in the book's girl's gracious smile. The feeling was strange and intrusive, but indescribably addictive. They walk and talk in the maze about Alex's friends and Lena's favorite books and Alex gave the gardens a chance, they shared a sandwich and Alex tried Lena's english tea, and with each newness she felt this weird thing, as if her heart was expanding.  
  
When the alarm announces the end of the last period, they find themselves staring at each other again in the lobby around the crowd of students. A lot of words seem to hang over them.  
  
 _I'm not ready to go yet._  
  
 _It was a very fun day with you again!_  
  
 _See you tomorrow?_  
  
But it was Lena who shifted, opening her purse to remove and extend the redhead denim jacket, which she caught with wide eyes, because it looked cleaner and more fragrant than the day before.  
  
"Thank you." Lena smiled sheepishly. "It truly kept me warm."  
  
"You should keep it." Alex responded impulsively, hurrying to put the jacket over her shoulders so she wouldn't refuse. "It looked good on you. You can give it back to me friday."  
  
"Friday?" Lena's eyes seemed to sparkle and Alex quickly turned away from the glow, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.  
  
"Yeah..." She laughed nervously. "Apparently I'll be staying for the week."  
  
"Did your principal decide this?"  
  
"Well..." The siege tightened. "Not exactly. I kind of asked him."  
  
"You did?" That absurd smile made Alex swallow hard.  
  
"I did." She laughed even more stunned, but the book's girl's smile was an injection of courage into her. "I was thinking... I imagine you must be those girls busy with latin or fencing or shit like that, but... Maybe we can spend some time together out of school?"  
  
She glimpsed something like realization or disappointment or concern in Lena's expression, but thought it best not to ask.  
  
"Actually, this week I'm free after school." Lena smiled again as if nothing had happened. "It would be lovely, Alex."  
  
"Awesome!" Alex coundn't help but laugh. "So... Tomorrow?"  
  
"Tomorrow." Lena nodded smiling and paraded to her driver with the jacket floating around her shoulders and Alex almost jumped celebrating in triumph.  
  
Alex once again did not sweat pedaling back home. It was even colder than yesterday, but her heart was beating even more wildly, her blood racing like lightning, and the world seemed simply warm and inviting.  
  
  
  
She counted the seconds until the alarm sounded on wednesday and she nearly stumbled into the lobby when she found Lena waiting for her with Imra and Andrea, the denim jacket again floating around her, the smile again illuminating the early afternoon. Alex took a moment to contemplate herself in the reflection of the marble, wondering if she should have worn pants with less rips on her legs or a new sweater. And suddenly she finds herself blushing, because they will just spend time together, it's not like a date or something.  
  
"Hi, agent." Lena smiled as she approached.  
  
"Agent?" Alex frowned, waving at the other girls.  
  
"Andrea came up with this theory that you are a secret agent who is on a very important mission." She shrugged gracefully.  
  
"Secret Agent..." The redhead nodded in puzzlement. "Because?"  
  
"You don't want to know, honey, believe me." She winked at Imra.  
  
"Weren't you about to say from where you drew such conclusions?" Lena was suddenly intrigued as well.  
  
"You want to know even less than her, honey." Imra returned the wink to Andrea.  
  
"What are you two up to?" Lena frowned, crossing her arms. "I hope you aren't mocking her."  
  
Alex smiled at the girl's protective mood.  
  
"Fine!" Andrea shrugged, Imra laughing beside her. "We think the redhead here is on an intrepid mission to steal your heart, my dear friend."  
  
None of them saw it coming. Lena flushed immediately, her lips parting, her eyes fixed on the grass, her fingers almost trembling on her arms still crossed. The girls burst out laughing and Alex felt strangely calm even though a bomb was exploding in her stomach.  
  
 _A bomb of freaking butterflies._  
  
"Dad's here!" Andrea stopped laughing and waved at the man in the distance. "See you tomorrow, honey." She kissed Lena's reddened cheek, Imra following. "You better take care of our girl, Miss Danvers!"  
  
None of them answered and silence reigned when the girls left. Lena started walking to where Alex's bike was parked and Alex followed her with her hands in her pockets, analyzing the abrupt reaction. She understands, friends always play with the worst subjects, but she suddenly realized that she wouldn't mind stealing the heart of the book's girl she has known for only three days.  
  
"Are you okay?" Crouching Alex smiled softly at her, taking the lock from the bike.  
  
"They're silly." Lena looked recovered, shrugging.  
  
"What are friends for, right?"  
  
Lena nodded. "I'm so sorry if they embarrassed you."  
  
"I'm okay." Alex guided the handlebars to continue their walk.  
  
"I..." She seemed to blush for a second again. "I would like to continue calling you agent, however." And she looked down at the ground again and Alex decided she wants those eyes on hers for as long as she can keep it.  
  
"Lena." She called and the book's girl looked shyly at her. "You can call me whatever you want."  
  
Lena smiled and everything was fine again.  
  
It's curious. Alex has many friends and remembers how she met almost all of them, but this is completely different. They walk through the city together and talk about some of the Luthor's magnificent technological advances and Danvers' discoveries in South America a few years ago, about college and outer space, and Alex never tires of making her laugh. Sometimes they just get quiet and there is anxiety and euphoria around it, the redhead feels she is braving her own big discovery into the unknown, and the unknown is bright and has big lovely green eyes.  
  
She begins to jot it down in her head like an invisible map filled with intriguing coordinates, attractive shortcuts, very high mountains, and very long plains, fascinating her with every minute of the afternoon heading toward dusk.  
  
Lena loves vanilla ice cream and she can't let her get away with it by playing with her as they walk on the sidewalk and the book's girl comes up with a series of impressively serious arguments as to why vanilla ice cream is the best. And Alex jokes about it so much that, in a wave of closed-eyed laughter, she doesn't see the pole in front of her and slaps her elbow into it, chocolate ice cream sliding down her cheek with the thrust of her arm.  
  
It's Lena who laughs this time, until Alex poutes and crosses her arms over the lost ice cream and the disastrous crash, but she's quickly cheerful in the sunlight when the book's girl leans over and wipes the ice cream from her cheek, The same delicacy of touch, another rose-scented handkerchief, the same tender smile.  
  
They go to the library and Alex feels like a child, sitting on the floor cross-legged and a bag of jelly beans in her lap, filling her mouth with candy while Lena reads some Schrödinger's pages for her. Her voice flows like a prayer and she gets excited occasionally. Even when Alex picks up a copy of Curie and reads hesitantly, not used to reading aloud, Lena smiles at her and suddenly they're exchanging quotes from her favorite physicists, heading for a colorful comic book section of superheroes.  
  
She learns that Lena was born in Ireland and that her mother died when she was just four years old. Lena is a chess master and Alex decides that they need to challenge each other one day. Lena's favorite movie is Titanic and Alex feigns immense horror when the book's girl says she has never watched Die Hard, Alex's favorite. Lena tells how the Luthors are preparing her to grow into one of the companies in Metropolis or National City, the centers, and Alex can't help but wonder if this is what she really wants, and also that she shouldn't have to decide this soon if that's the case.  
  
There was something, not so surprisingly, Lena didn't know how to do. They were at the top of a hill when Alex sighed, jumped on the bike's rump, and held out a hand for her to hold. "Do you trust me?"  
  
"What?" Lena frowned.  
  
"Do you trust me?" Alex looked determined, smiling confidently.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Come on, you never watched Aladdin?" Alex's eyes widened.  
  
"No." Lena folded her arms defensively.  
  
"For real?" She laughed in disbelief. "He's just floating on the magic carpet and he asks if the princess trusts him… They cross the world on the carpet…?"  
  
"I'm a Luthor, this isn't exactly the welcome story genre in my house." She smiles sadly.  
  
"Got it." Alex nodded but offer her hand again. "But do you trust me?" She points to the handlebars and Lena understands what she means.  
  
"Of course I trust you, agent, but..."  
  
"There is only one answer, book's girl." She insists, but smiles encouragingly. "Do you trust me, Lena Luthor?"  
  
Lena bit her lower lip and glimpsed the great hill, as if calculating the possible damage and distance with her eyes. But that smile, that hand waiting for her, something about the voice and the request, all just moved her. "I trust you, Alexandra Danvers."  
  
Alex had always been an active child, riding everywhere on her bike, earning huge scratches on her legs and arms and bruises all over her body. But nothing stopped her and she became very good at crossing the most unsteady terrain on two wheels.  
  
The experience this time is again completely different with Lena. She held tight to the handlebars and they began to gain speed as they descended the hill. Alex kept her hands clasped at her waist, numbing with the scent of her hair and her nearness. But what really nearly made her lose her balance and fall back on the asphalt was the projection of Lena's ribs in her hands as the book's girl began to laugh, to simply laugh, to laugh with all her heart, the world in blurry landscapes around them as she did so, the sound filling Alex inside.  
  
When twilight tinted the city orange, they were again in front of the Academy, exhausted, sharing another ice cream, now mixed, sitting facing each other on a bench, Alex's bike propped up beside it.  
  
Lena let her devour the rest of the ice cream and smiled softly. "Thank you, agent."  
  
"For the bike?" Alex raised her eyebrows. "After the first ride, it goes easy peasy!"  
  
The book's girl laughed. "Not just for the ride..." She mused staring up at the sky above. "I never had an afternoon off for fun."  
  
"You mean... Never?" The redhead cringed at the thought, remembering all the countless afternoons messing with her friends and her sister.  
  
"Never." Lena smiled slightly frustrated, as if she feared that would make Alex think badly of her. "Foreign Languages, Robotics, Fencing, Synchronized Swimming, Equestrian, Archery, Business, Piano, Ballet, Advertising, Etiquette... There is no time."  
  
"There should always be time for fun." Alex tossed the paper into the trash can behind her and stared at Lena with determination. "We still have two days. Let's go to the beach tomorrow!"  
  
"The beach?" Lena looked genuinely surprised.  
  
"Have you never been to the beach?" The growing suspicion almost terrified the redhead.  
  
"No time." She looked at her legs on the seat.  
  
"Oh." Alex shrugged shyly. "We can go anywhere you want."  
  
"Agent..." Lena laughed gracefully. "I would love to go to the beach with you."  
  
When Lena's driver honked and the girl picked up her bag and the denim jacket, standing up and leaning smiling to kiss Alex's cheek suddenly, the only thing redhead remembers is sitting paralyzed on the seat, not even noticing the night that engulfed the sky, and even in the sheer cold of darkness it was warm as a golden crack of sunlight.  
  
  
  
Alex still can't tell what exactly is happening to her. Was she always like this, attentive, laughing at everything, unable to sleep without waking agitated by any sound, willing and electric all around her? Has she always been taken so grandly by something or someone that she forgot about bullies and fights?  
  
Thursday afternoon fell sunny in wild flowing winds and seemed providential. Alex tried to pay attention to what Lena was saying as they collected shells, grabbed more ice cream and walked along the sand, but she was too busy entranced by the new light Lena had brought to dazzle the sun over them. Flushed and cheerful, barefoot, her shirt with an open button and the tie hanging on her arm with the denim jacket, her hair floating, the aspect of freedom and calm through the sounds of the sea.  
  
She was just... Something to see.  
  
Alex decided to go surfing and Lena seemed delighted with the idea. She sat patiently on the sand and waited, encouraging with a splendid and undeniable smile. It was no big deal for the redhead, she loved to surf and she could spend hours breaking the waves, but she felt a little different about Lena. She wanted to prove she could do it well and looked so irrational, because she was never one to show off. She just wanted Lena to smile and laugh and have fun during their time together.  
  
She boarded the first wave and it works like a charm. She loves the pressure, the adrenaline, seeing herself crossing the blue tube or feeling herself floating on top of the world, but suddenly all she hears is Lena's admired laughter from the sand and becomes yet another item for her list of favorite things about surfing. Swimming over the board with reddish hair falling over her face and the sun making the water sparkle, she watched intently, waiting for a radical wave that would surely impress the girl. She just couldn't help it, not when she heard the exclamation of joy coming from the sand.  
  
There was this saying about Icarus that Hank Henshaw used to tell her and she never quite got it. It was something like _"don't fly too close to the sun!"_ which she just ignored and forgot in a couple of hours. Strange how it comes to her mind when the gigantic wave comes, as if the sentence finally makes sense.  
  
There is no time to swim away, not even to dive under the liquid force of nature. The wave swallowed her and the plank at once, the object lost on the surface as she felt bend and shake under the water. It was in her ears and nose, as if something were striking her from all sides. All she could hear was the aggressive, rambling whirlwind, her body aching as it rolled and rolled and rolled as the wave rolled to the sandy shore.  
  
Everything was dark and it felt like she was about to lose consciousness, salt water burning in her throat and cold freezing her bones until she felt warm hands pressing firmly against her chest, the water starting to protrude outward. She coughed wildly, but helped her breathe, and the pressing hands gripped her face, soft and gentle, almost a new reason for her to actually lose consciousness. Her mind began to clear and her ears began to unclog, she felt her head resting on a soft surface, hands pushing her hair away from her aching eyes.  
  
Finally she found clairvoyance in a distant voice calling for her. It was tender, but she looked terrified, and the touch of her hands seemed to vibrate when this voice spoke. Clinging to the sound, Alex tried to open her eyes, all blurry above her, but the slanted silhouette staring at her was becoming clear as she felt her trembling breath coming to her with the scent of sweet ice cream.  
  
“Agent...” She heard Lena's voice clearly.  
  
The redhead blinked stunned and focused on the face above her. There it was, crystalline, pale and beautiful, though trembling and frightened, Lena's face, her verdant bright eyes, an involuntary pout as if she were about to burst into tears, her long black hair wet as a waterfall on the left, leaning over the redhead's shoulder.  
  
"Hey..." She grinned dazed.  
  
“Oh my...” Her voice cracked and she looked even paler. “I'm so sorry, agent, I tried to warn you but the wave came out of nowhere and it was too late!”  
  
Alex raised a curious hand and touched her hair. "Your hair..." Becoming aware, the reddened eyes widened. “You got me out of the water. I mean, you got in there and pulled me out. ”  
  
"Please do not speak, your throat..."  
  
But Alex laughed and ignored the command. “You saved me.” She dared to touch Lena's worried face. “Awesome. It's just like The Little Mermaid. You're Ariel and I'm the prince.”  
  
Lena frowned but smiled warmly, her fingers caressing Alex's short hair without even noticing. “No time for Disney movies, remember?”  
  
“Yeah.” Alex grunted playfully. “I forgot you suck sometimes.”  
  
She thought Lena would pretend to be mad at her, but the book's girl still seemed engrossed in the accident, scanning Alex's eyes as if trying to make sure she was all right, her hands touching, sliding smoothly around her face in upset worry. Alex looked back at her with the same intensity and she meant that she was fine, that it had happened several times, that she always recovered within a few minutes, but the way Lena was looking at her, genuine care, her warm, gentle touch, the softness of her thighs under Alex's head, all the magic of a moment that went from desperation to tenderness, she didn't want to suddenly lose the precious time suspended in space.  
  
And even if she wanted to, the sounds of speeding footsteps in the sand broke the spell. In the glimpse of a few seconds, she barely had time to understand what was happening when Lena was grabbed and knocked over and her head hit the hard damp sand.  
  
“What the hell...?” She rubbed the back of her neck in pain, trying to get up and find out what hit them.  
  
Sometimes it seems like the world likes to catch her off guard. She widened her eyes to find Kara, Nia, Winn, James, Dox and Sam behind her just to turn around and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw Lucy immobilizing Lena beneath her.  
  
"You better start talking, girl, what were you up to?!"  
  
“Lucy!” Alex shouted and ran straight at them, pulling her friend off the book's girl before she could answer the inquiry. Lena looked confused and dizzy as Alex lifted her from the sand, resting her hands on her waist to steady her. “Are you out of your mind?!” She turned and barked, her friends looking at each other curiously as Sam helped Lucy to her feet.  
  
“You know her?” Winn frowned.  
  
“Of course I do!” She held Lena's waist closer and the book's girl seemed to regain sense, blushing furiously.  
  
"We saw her on top of you and we thought, I don't know, she was robbing you or something." Lucy patted the sand on her arms and shrugged.  
  
“So you decided to throw yourself on her like a mad dog?” Alex didn't realize he was so angry until that moment, her voice rising unsteadily.  
  
"I was protecting your ass, you're welcome."  
  
"Is that the reason why you've been ignoring us?" James measured Lena suspiciously.  
  
"I'm not ignoring you." She rolled her eyes.  
  
"You're kinda is..." Nia smiled guiltily. “At least now we know why.” The smile turned devilish and she winked at Lena.  
  
“She seems a lovely reason, Alexandra.” Dox commented casually, almost sympathetically, utterly innocent, earning an elbow from Winn.  
  
“What are you guys doing here anyway?” Alex massaged her temples.  
  
“It's a public beach.” Lucy laughed incredulously, confused by Alex's hostile behavior, because she could be a beast with others, but never with them.  
  
Kara was strangely observant, her eyes widened under her glasses going from Lena to Alex in an endless loop.  
  
“So...” Sam cleared her throat, trying to ease the tension. "Will you introduce us to your friend?"  
  
Alex sighed, loosening the grip on Lena's waist. “This is Lena. Lena Luthor." She smiled at the book’s girl and the group waved at her. "Lena, these are my friends Sam, Lucy, Nia, James, Winn and Dox." She then pointed happily at Kara. “And this is my sister Kara.”  
  
"The famous Kara Danvers." Lena smiled at the blonde. "It's wonderful to meet all of you."  
  
“Lena Luthor?” Winn drummed his fingers on his chin contemplatively. "As in Luthor Corp, science and technology moguls, supposed secret mobsters who destroy the lives of helpless people?"  
  
"Winn!" Alex exclaimed in horror.  
  
The effect was immediate on Lena. She looked puzzled and then shrunken and then completely lost in herself, moving away from Alex. "I should go. I'll see you tomorrow, agent. Once again, it was wonderful to meet you." She doesn't even look at them and doesn't bother to take her boots and Alex's denim jacket behind them in the sand, rushing against the wind.  
  
Alex froze staring at the girl moving away from her.  
  
“Agent...?” Nia arched a devilish eyebrow.  
  
“What the hell is wrong with you guys?!” Alex turned to them again, something exploding chaotically inside her.  
  
"Hey, calm down, he didn't mean to offend her." James defended Winn, who had the decency to look very guilty for his fumbling talk.  
  
"You could talk to your friend tomorrow and start explaining why you've been ignoring us since you went to that fancy school." Lucy interfered, braving whatever fury Alex was saving to shoot them. "You will ask for a transfer?"  
  
“I have nothing to talk to you.” She spat, stepping through them to clumsily put on her sneakers and pick up Lena's stuff. “Just leave me alone.” The last sentence seemed to surprise them all and she started running calling for Lena without looking back.  
  
"What just happened?" Even Sam, who usually has all the sensible answers, looked confused.  
  
"She really left us." Lucy snorted as if she didn't care, but concern was all over her melancholy expression. "Too bad for her."  
  
"Can't you guys see?" Kara's voice sounded softly for the first time since they got there, and the little girl looked at each of them as if all circumstances were suddenly as obvious as possible.  
  
"What is it, Kara?" James tilted his head.  
  
"She likes her." Kara verbalized as if to say more to herself than to the group. "I mean... She really likes that girl Lena Luthor. She's... Into her."  
  
They all looked at each other as if stunned, realizing the unquestioned truth that bloomed after Kara's words. Alex's sudden disappearance since monday, the desire to stay a few more days at the Academy, how she seemed absorbed and distracted every night, the air of sighs and musings, the way she protected the girl like a fortress around her. It all seemed crystal clear now.  
  
"Yay!" Nia was the only one who laughed and celebrated. "I told you she had a crush!"  
  
"Yeah." Kara smiled, nodding, but looked up to see in the distance Alex almost reached Lena on the low hill, almost on the other side of the beach. "Yes, you did."  
  
"Lena, please, wait!" Alex managed to carefully grasp her wrist, panting and staggering closer, their bodies almost colliding when Lena turned.  
  
It wasn't what Alex expected, like anger or sadness. She looked... Shy.  
  
Flushing, she didn't dare look at the redhead. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to embarrass or make a fool of myself in front of your friends and your sister." She sighed and shook her head, staring at the sand joining the grass below them. "I feel... I'm sorry. When someone talks about the Luthors it's like they trigger something on me."  
  
"You have nothing to apologize for." Alex slid her fingers from her wrist to entwine theirs together. "They are the ones who should be sorry."  
  
"Agent..." She sighed again, exhausted.  
  
"Please, don't go." The redhead wouldn't believe the plea in her own voice. "We still have that amazing tape and marshmallows and..."  
  
She was unable to complete the sentence when Lena flashed a fragile, anxious smile and simply released her hand to fall into her arms, her face pressed to her chest and her hands tightly clasped behind her back. For a moment it was as if the world was turning upside down and Alex found herself tense and panicky, for seconds later the whole world returned to its place with her hugging Lena back, one hand holding her by the shoulders and the other caressing her hair.  
  
Like Joule effect, she thought.  
  
Energy turning into pure heat.  
  
In the specter of the unbelievable, she dared not question and let herself remain in the embrace for as long as Lena wished as the twilight sun seemed to plunge into the sea behind them.  
  
The cold nightfall was full of stars above the beach. Alex speared the marshmallows on the sticks and Lena changed the old songs from time to time, the denim jacket on her shoulders warming her as much as the fire. Sitting on a quilt, Alex hiding her bare legs under the cloth, is the first time they have enjoyed unbreakable silence together and it bursts Alex's heart to realize how much fun it is because at the same time they can talk about all things, they can give up words and still look happy in the moments of occasional smiles and laughter.  
  
But there was something, a little detail in the perfect scenario, and Alex knew Lena would bring it to the surface sooner or later.  
  
"Don't fight with your friends for me." The book's girl finally whispered, her voice no louder than fire crackling on the branches and stones in the sand.  
  
"They need to get their heads off their asses." Alex replied easily, shrugging, moving her feet and staring at the movement under the bedspread.  
  
"Alex." Lena called tenderly and the redhead met her eyes genuinely bright, but looking saddened. "It's not worth it."  
  
"Don't say that." She pushed herself to kneel on her legs, shuffling closer to Lena, who played head-down with the silver buttons on the denim jacket. "Please, don't." In an act of courage, she gently touched the book's girl's chin so that their eyes met again. "Come to this stupid dance with me tomorrow."  
  
Lena's eyes widened. "What...?"  
  
Alex laughed and held her hands. "Come on. I'll clean up nicely and take you flowers and all that bullshit. And I'll step on your foot because I'm a disaster of a dancer. And you'll laugh at me and I'll deserve it and then I'll..." She stopped suddenly, her eyes widening at the unspoken surprise. "I will..."  
  
For she knew exactly what she was about to say.  
  
It was Lena who intertwined their fingers this time, that affectionate smile stealing the glow from the fire and all the surrounding stars. "You will...?" She whispered, not letting it go.  
  
Alex bit her lower lip, sighing. "Look... I know you turned down that guy who invited you, Jack Spheer, but..."  
  
"You were overhearing this?" Lena raised her eyebrows in amazement..  
  
Realization spread red in Alex's face and she wanted to slap herself for slipping the secret information. She covered her face with her hands and grunted and Lena laughed so loudly that the wind of the salt air seemed a distant echo. But then she took Alex's hands in hers and leaned her forehead over hers, and the redhead felt hard to breathe properly.  
  
"Sorry. It was kinda rude." Alex murmured her apologies.  
  
"It's alright." Lena whispered back, sweet marshmallow breath touching the redhead's flaming skin. "I didn't want to go with Jack. But I want to go with you."  
  
"This means we're going?"  
  
"Alex..." Their eyes met again. "Although I didn't want to go with Jack, there is a reason why I didn't want to go to the dance..."  
  
"Whatever it is, you can tell me. We don't have to go if you don't want to."  
  
"I wish to go and dance with you until night turns into day, Alex Danvers, this is all I would wish right now. But I need to say what I should have said when..."  
  
The low rumble of an engine and two blinding flashlights flashed on her back and Lena could never finish the confession. The red AM1 Puma glinted in the darkness and out came a man in a handsome black suit, no hair, a thin smooth goatee, hands in pockets and keen eyes searching the beach.  
  
When he spotted them, he didn't look surprised. "Night, sis." He grinned at Lena, looking around at the quilt, the marshmallows, the bonfire, and the inevitable closeness of the two girls.  
  
Lena was alarmed and checked her watch in her purse, turning to him with a guilty smile. "Lex..."  
  
"I know." He shrugged. "I told mother you were studying late at the library, but if I don't get you home right now, she's able to send all the cops in town after you."  
  
"So this is the famous Alexander Luthor." Alex spoke like Lena when she saw Kara, waving to the young guy.  
  
"And you’re the famous Alexandra Danvers." He winked at her, a smart smile shining on his face. "The kiddo who's been turning my sister's head on."  
  
"Can you please wait in the car?" Lena pleaded flushed.  
  
He laughed and raised his hands in defeat, waving at Alex before getting back into the ridiculously expensive car in his ridiculously expensive suit and luckily Alex found him less intimidating than she imagined from a brother five years older than Lena.  
  
"Your brother seems nice." She shrugged. "I didn't know you told him about me."  
  
"Why? Because you didn't tell your sister about me?" Lena turned to her with those intense eyes filled with tenderness.  
  
"I'm sorry." She swallowed hard.  
  
Lena rolled her eyes and smiled, not serious. "I'll be at the dance with you, agent." She touched the redhead's face, her fingers gently grazing her flushed cheeks, making Alex sigh finally relieved. "Will you consider talking to your friends tonight, though? Please?"  
  
Alex grimaced for a moment, not wanting to throw in the towel. She didn't want to give explanations or let other people into what she is sharing with Lena, the unfolding of these last days as days she never imagined living, laughing and discovering and approaching. But the book’s girl waits calmly and she knows she can't refuse.“I'll talk to them. Promise."  
  
It was worth giving the correct answer when Lena smiled and leaned into her before rising, closing her eyes and kissing Alex's forehead with impeccable tenderness, warn and soft, tight and secure, making the redhead melt with her heart pulsing in her hands. Infinite spiral joule effect, warming and warming and burning and burning and exploding inside her.  
  
She couldn't define how long she stood there when Lena left, but again the cold had nothing on her. And lost in the charm that has kept her in the clouds since she first saw the book's girl, she simply forgot that Lena had something to tell.  
  
  
It's just muffled laughing voices from Kara's room as she climbed the stairs followed by the suspicious eyes of her parents cuddling on the couch. She knows she overreacted back to the beach, she knows she didn't talk to their friends all week, considering they usually talk every single day. She just knows she was lost in Lena Luthor and she was beginning to fully understand why.  
  
She opened the door to find them all scattered in pajamas on blankets and pillows, with candy, popcorn, pizza and soda all around. Apparently Dox was about to host a sagas vote between Lord of the Rings and Terminator, but almost as if they knew she was coming, they all fell silent as soon as the door was opened, and she felt suddenly too small before those questioning eyes.  
  
“Hey guys...” She whispered shyly.  
  
"Look who remembered the way home." Lucy shot with irony.  
  
“Alex!” Winn grinned, lighting up like a rocket, as if he feared she would never want to be around him again. "You're back!"  
  
"I am." She shrugged.  
  
"Your princess dumped you already?" James accused, and even though his smile betrayed the joke, Alex frowned.  
  
"Don't talk about her." Her voice remained low. "She told me to come talk to you."  
  
“So you didn't want to come?” Kara looked truly hurt. "Becau..."  
  
"Of course I did!" She interrupted in alarm, not wanting to upset her little sister. "It's just .. I don't know how to explain it to you guys."  
  
“Is there something you want to share with us, Alexandra?” Dox studied her closely.  
  
 _Alex thought quickly about what even she was fully aware of._  
  
“Do you have secrets with your friends now?” Lucy circled. "I don't imagine what you could possibly keep from us."  
  
 _Alex projected a justification, but could not verbalize._  
  
"Are you thinking of staying at the Academy?!" Winn exclaimed in horror.  
  
 _Alex wanted to slap him again, but she couldn't even move before the next manifestation._  
  
"Hey, you know you can tell us anything..." Sam encouraged.  
  
 _Enough._  
  
“Guys!” She raised her hands as if to form a wall in front of her. "It's nothing like that!"  
  
"Hell, Alex, spit it out at once then!" Lucy kept pressing.  
  
"I like her!" She screamed, red cheeks, heart racing from what she never verbalized. “I wasn't trying to ignore you guys, I wasn't hiding from you, I just like her! I like her and I'll take her to the dance tomorrow and then you guys can have my attention, but until then there's nothing I can do because I like this girl! Okay? All satisfied?” Then she folded her arms, sitting sharply on Kara's bed without looking at either of them.  
  
She realized she hates that silence. It's different from the silence she shared with Lena, it's uncomfortable and weird and she just wants them to laugh in her face and never leave her alone, because she needs her friends to understand it, so that she can understand and do something about herself before she loses all courage.  
  
"Damn, Danvers." Lucy crossed her arms and opened that bawdy smile of hers. "That's my girl!"  
  
“What?” Alex frowned, finally looking to find almost all of them smiling at her.  
  
"You said it!" Nia clapped.  
  
"Well done, Alexandra." Dox shook thumbs up.  
  
“I knew you would raze hearts there, buddy!” Winn raised his fist in victory.  
  
"Nice, Alex." James contemplated. "I have to admit she's kinda cute."  
  
"I said she was a lovely reason for Alexandra to leave us." Dox added.  
  
"Indeed..." Lucy held her own chin. "I was kind of mad when interrogating her, but she's really super cute."  
  
“Guys...” Alex, flushed and surprised, cut off the comments.  
  
She was actually happy, more than happy. But this was incomplete, hanging around her like a fog, Sam and Kara being the only ones who said nothing, both solemnly looking at her as if studying the right words, and she couldn't decide if it was good or bad.  
  
But then Sam rose from her pillow and handed the bucket of popcorn to Winn's lap beside her, pacing the room on her long legs and coming face to face with Alex, who swallowed under her friend's penetrating gaze.  
  
“Dress or suit?” She arched an eyebrow.  
  
“You... What?” Alex widened her eyes.  
  
“Well, you're going to the dance tomorrow. Do you want a dress or a suit?”  
  
Gaping, Alex answered automatically. "A... S-suit."  
  
"Lucy." Sam turned, taking her mother's car keys from her pocket and tossing it to the other girl. “Nia.” Then she leaned over and offered a hand to help the girl to her feet, candies balanced on her other arm. “We'll take care of it.” And the three of them left the room with smiles and nods, ignoring that they were still in their pajamas.  
  
"What are you going to give her?" James approached contemplatively, arms crossed.  
  
“I... I don’t know?” She felt almost adorably overwhelmed by their reaction.  
  
“What does she like best?” Winn picked up his laptop from Kara's bookcase.  
  
“Science.” Alex answered easily, refraining from smiling wryly. “But I think I would give her flowers?”  
  
"The flower shop is not opening tomorrow, the owners have traveled." James whined, patting his forehead.  
  
Winn sighed. “Small town, my friend. Small town.”  
  
"All is not lost, my fellows." Dox mused, and Alex could have sworn she saw a light bulb flicker over his head. “I have a bold plan, but I need your help and protection.”  
  
"Protection is up to me." James recovers. “I got your back.”  
  
"I don't know if I'm a very good sidekick." Winn grunted.  
  
"I'm sure you'll be useful, Winslow." Dox insisted, squinting at the two girls in the room.  
  
"Or maybe I can stay and give Alex romantic advice?" He tried again, smiling as if it were a brilliant idea.  
  
The boys didn't need any more arguments to wave to Kara and Alex and drag Winn out with them.  
  
Only then does Alex realize, of course, that her friends were not only helping her with the dance and the girl, but they intended to leave her and her sister alone. Kara hasn't said a word since she blew up the secret, she stood there, staring at the redhead under her big glasses without even a hint of what she was thinking.  
  
And if Kara was thinking badly of her, all the support from others and the hopes she could tell Lena about her feelings would be in vain.  
  
"Look, we don't have to make a big deal out of this." She started anxiously, getting up and circling the room. "You don't have to be all weird, just tell me you don't approve and I'll understand and..."  
  
“Alex.” Kara called, her voice sweet as always. She had sat on her bed and patted the empty space beside her. "Talk to me."  
  
“Right.” Alex sighed and cringed beside her, not understanding why she felt ashamed to look into those confident blue eyes of her sister.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kara asked with genuine curiosity.  
  
"I don't know." She sighed in frustration again. "I don't even know if I knew it earlier. It's been only four days. Doesn't make any sense."  
  
“But you know it’s real.”  
  
"I do." Involuntarily she smiled.  
  
“Nia said you had a crush and I doubted. I hate being wrong about you.”  
  
“I hate to keep things from you, for what’s worth.”  
  
"And how does it feel?" She adjusted her glasses, almost leaning forward to listen intently.  
  
“It’s like...” Alex laughed, ecstatic. “She's so amazing, Kara. She is smart and funny and she knows so many things and has so many dreams. Everything she does looks magical and she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I… I really like her." The third sigh escaped her like a melody.  
  
Kara finally broke into a bright smile like the sun itself. “I'm happy for you. I can't begin to explain how happy I am that you stopped using your fists to open your heart."  
  
The realization hits Alex immediately. Kara is right. She punched Michael Matthews monday morning, but soon after and in the days that followed she simply didn't get into a fight, she didn't even think about using her hands for anything other than riding the bike with Lena laughing on the rump, or holding books and ice cream next to Lena, or twining fingers with Lena. Her mind was completely out of the fight all week.  
  
She put an arm around Kara's shoulder. "I'm happy too."  
  
"Oh, and you shouldn't just give her flowers." Kara frowned. “Do something special. Something that comes from inside.”  
  
"You know what?" Alex nodded. “This is actually a pretty good idea.”  
  
They fell into a comfortable silence, Kara opening and sharing a bar of chocolate and caramel with her, both chewing and thinking about everything, finally satisfied, each in her thoughts, for having no more secrets with each other. All Alex could think about now was the dance and how she would feel to see Lena and how she would give Lena a special gift.  
  
"Alex..." Kara murmured again, the suggestion of a laugh projecting into her tone. "You totally gave her your jacket, didn't you?"  
  
  
  
No one knew how the boys got the most exaggerated, colorful and beautiful flower arrangement possible. They only arrived early the next morning covered in dirt and bragged triumphantly that they had made it. The girls were already in the middle of the living room drinking hot chocolate and orange juice and devouring all the cookies in the pantry while Kara provided eggs and bacon in the kitchen and Alex stood upright with her arms outstretched, Nia pulling the last pins off her pants, Lucy tucking one of the suspender buckles over her white shirt and Sam humming, finishing sewing the black tuxedo buttons, the blue western bow tie slung over her shoulder.  
  
Alex wasn't comfortable, but she was so happy to be able to wear her leather boots that she decided to let them work.  
  
And Jeremiah and Eliza didn't know what was going on at their house, but they just picked up their coffees and newspapers and sat smiling on the porch overlooking the beach.  
  
By the time she arrived at the Academy, ready-made clothes in her backpack and a thunder of courage resonating inside her, she had already decided what she would do for Lena. She walked determinedly toward the auditorium and ignored the surprised glances of the students who almost shouted in alarm as she opened the doors with the sign _"rehearsal in progress, entrance strictly forbidden"_ and marched down the steps toward the stage in the large dark room.  
  
The band fell silent and everyone looked at her, the blonde leather-clad guitarist, the platinum-haired drummer with jeans from head to toe, the elegant brunette bassist and the male handsome singer in the Academy uniform.  
  
"Danvers?" The blonde guitarist frowned.  
  
Alex suddenly recoiled in surprise in the audience area below them. "You know me?"  
  
She turned the volume down and rested her arms on the instrument. “The only reason I didn't kick your ass as soon as you opened the door is because I know who you are. Imra told me about you. And everyone knows you punched that asshole Mike in the face. You're almost welcome here."  
  
"You're Gayle Marsh." she guessed.  
  
"Call me Psi." She nodded. "This guy here is Russell, but you can call him Rip Roar." Alex grinned and waved at Andrea's boy. "On drums, Leslie, but you can call her Livewire." The girl spun her drumsticks, disinterested. "And this is Siobhan on bass."  
  
"What should I call her?" Alex pointed out.  
  
The short girl blew a bubble of gum and looked at Alex indifferently. "Siobhan."  
  
“Okay...” She laughed flabbergasted.  
  
“Call her Banshee.” Gayle winked at her and Leslie and Russell burst out laughing, causing the other girl to roll her eyes.  
  
Alex thought it best not to ask.  
  
“What can we do for you?” Russell smiled brightly. "I'm on orders for any friend of my girl's friend."  
  
Alex crouched down and took some papers from her pack, crumpling her hands in nervousness as she stood back up. “I need a favor... Kind of.”  
  
The drummer and the bassist raised their eyebrows, but Gayle decided to give the opportunity for her to speak. "What do you have in mind?"  
  
“I would like to sing a song. Tonight. At the dance?”  
  
"And I'd like to go to Paris." Siobhan scoffed with a shrug.  
  
"You always go to Paris." Leslie snorted.  
  
“Why?” Gayle ignored the mockery. "Why do you sing for?"  
  
"Lena." She decided to be simply honest and Russell immediately smiled at her. "I want to sing for Lena Luthor."  
  
"Let me get this right." Gayle smiled with a frown. "You beat the shit out of the guys at your school, were sent here and beat the shit out of Matthews, started hanging out with Lena Luthor herself and now you want to sing for her at the dance?"  
  
"Yeah..." Alex swallowed hard. "Precisely."  
  
"What's the song?" Leslie decided to give in and get involved.  
  
The redhead jumped on the stage and handed the papers, a score for each member, shrugging anxiously as they analyzed it.  
  
“Why this song?” Siobhan couldn't help but ask.  
  
“Honestly?” And Alex couldn't help but smile. "I have no idea."  
  
It wasn't true. She knew exactly why. It was the song that was playing softly on the tape player that night on the beach when she invited Lena to the dance. That simple moment, when she was feeling submerged in that extraordinary girl and the request came naturally. And they weren't even listening to the music at that time. It was just them and a growing and hopeless and unforeseen desire to be close to each other.  
  
"Sounds reasonable to me." Surprisingly, Siobhan smiled.  
  
“Let's do this.” Gayle turned up the guitar, the ripping sound echoing in the auditorium as she vigorously dragged her fingers on the strings.  
  
"Get your pretty face here, Danvers." Russell called with open arms. "You're going to be a star tonight!"  
  
  
  
The Academy was still fancy and majestic, but Alex thought it looked pretty as night fell and the grounds glowed with the cozy yellow lamps hanging from the trees on the building's facade, the gardens also gleaming with tiny spotlights like dripping crystals, the old chandeliers in the older wings were lit, the marble gleamed as usual, and the ballroom was worthy of a gala party, with punch and aperitifs, air-to-ceiling velvet curtains keeping the track intimate and still magnanimous, a projector in the lower left corner of the center stage casting illuminated images all over the place, and the grand central chandelier, though overshadowed by so much light and color, was in dim light as if it spun through space.  
  
Alex was standing in front of the lobby, hands behind clutching the arrangement of beautiful flowers, her red hair in upstyle, her blue western bow tie dangling and her leather boots gleaming as she nervously tapped her feet on the floor and took a deep breath. She wanted to see Lena, she would go up on that stage to sing in front of the whole Academy and Lena would figure out her feelings for sure and she was almost hyperventilating in anticipation.  
  
It is true to say, however, that the wait was worth it.  
  
Frank, Lena's driver, who now almost knew the redhead well, parked and moved quickly to open the back door. Alex straightened, checking if the suit was not dirty or crowded, plus a deep breath filling her chest before the longed-for sight.  
  
And what a vision to her passionate brown eyes.  
  
Lena accepted Frank's gentle hand and slid out of the car like a vivid dream. She was wearing a splendid emerald tea-length dress and white suede slingback shoes, a pearl necklace around the neck and black hair curling over her right shoulder.  
  
Interestingly, the redhead looked down at the floor to see if her boots had not untied and magically wrapped around each other so she was going to trip and fall on her nose like a jester.  
  
“Thank you, Frank.” Lena smiled sweetly and it was the final sentence for Alex to propel her toward her as a call.  
  
"Enjoy your night, Miss Luthor." The old man greeted and politely waved at them.  
  
Alex approached her slowly, her hands still on her back with the flowers, her eyes wide with fascination and her mouth ajar without a word.  
  
“Good evening, agent.” Lena got a good look at her, her green eyes shining as bright as her brown ones. "You look... Stunning." She softly touched the blue western bow tie.  
  
"Hi." Alex exhaled. "You are..." She swallowed, staring her from head to toe like a freaking miracle. “Flowers! I got you beautiful.” And then she gasped and frowned, flushing. “I mean youre beautiful. I got you flowers!” Quickly she brought her hands forward and offered the huge bouquet.  
  
Lena laughed like the damn loveliest thing in the world and accepted the flowers, her fingers grazing softly over the petals. “Agent… They're beautiful. I have something for you too." She reached for a little black velvet box in the inside pocket of her dress and held it open.  
  
Alex didn't think her heart could run even faster.  
  
In the velvet box was a brooch. It was the golden shape of a gear with a silver atom in the space on the middle, protons made of red bolts, neutrons made of white bolts and electrons made of little yellow spheres.  
  
"Lena..." Alex whispered.  
  
“You’re not much of a flower person, remember?” Lena buttoned and adjusted the pin on her suit lapel and smiled shyly. “You... Do you like it?”  
  
Most beautiful of all, it looked like a mechanical flower.  
  
Alex thought that everything in the spectrum of her emotions was overflowing and flowing around that girl, and all the glamorous decorations of the place, all the countless lights seem useless sparks as Lena smiles at her with those bright green eyes.  
  
"Lena, I..." She sighed almost breathlessly. "Yes. Thank you."  
  
“Will you take me inside and dance with me?” Lena laughed at the mess she was in.  
  
“Actually…" Alex considered how to start explaining.  
  
“Hey, Danvers!” Gayle Marsh emerged into the lobby with her bold hairstyle and white rockstar suit. "It's time."  
  
"Psi...?" Lena frowned. "What is happening, agent?"  
  
"I'll meet you inside." Alex took her hand to kiss. "Do you trust me?"  
  
Remembering melted Lena and she nodded, looking over Alex's shoulder to see Imra and Andrea waving excitedly from the hallway, and then looking back at her with a playful smile and a very close whisper. "Yes."  
  
Alex sighed contentedly and ran toward the hall, leaving the book's girl with a confused look and her friends looking at each other as if they knew something.  
  
  
She peeked behind the curtain and shuddered at the amount of people in the room. Russell had just promised a special surprise for the night and she couldn't stop wondering if this was a good idea and she wasn't actually making a fool of herself and dragging Lena with her.  
  
“You’re nervours.” Gayle materialized beside her with a vodka flask.  
  
“No, of course not...” Alex laughed shakily. "Should I?"  
  
"Your girl is gonna love it." The blonde tried to sound nonchalant, but there was the suggestion of a proud smile. “We train well. Besides, she likes you. You could wear a latex outfit and dance kabuki and she would still love it."  
  
“I hope you’re right.”  
  
“I always am.” She takes a generous sip and throws the flask into the case on the side of the stage. "Showtime, Romeo."  
  
Leslie was already on drums when the curtains opened and Gayle made her presence known with the guitar, followed by Siobhan with the bass and Russell sat on the edge of the stage with a folk acoustic guitar. Alex would come from behind the secondary curtains and she almost thought of running as far away as possible until she saw, right in front of the stage, Lena between Andrea and Imra, her once confused and curious eyes beginning to accomplish what was about to happen.  
  
The spotlight illuminated the center of the stage and the crowd whistled and cheered waiting for the show. Even Miss Grant was there, watching. Alex tried hard, one foot in front of the other, until she was under the light and the musicians smiled encouragingly at her. A few mockers pointed and laughed, but suddenly everything was gone. Lena had her head tilted, looking up, looking at her, eyes surprised but still impossibly soft just for her.  
  
There it was. The point of no return.  
  
Russell began with the folk acoustic guitar serenely and Gayle strummed the guitar with him, both of them around her and Siobhan and Leslie behind. Alex took a deep breath and leaned against the microphone, her absurdly sweaty trembling hands clinging to the sides of her body like an obedient soldier. It looked like she would pass out at any moment, but there was something about the lights above and Lena beneath with an incredulous smile that made all this madness worth it.  
  
Still not touching the microphone, bent over like a bow, Alex gives her the same smile and begins to sing.  
  
 _“How many special people change? How many lifes are living strange? Where were you while we were getting high?”_  
  
The melody flowed from her throat with a soothing simplicity and not surprisingly all the students ceased their voices to enjoy. Alex didn't want to take her eyes off Lena, but she decided to look around to make sure no tomatoes would jump out of the crowd right into her unsuspecting eye.  
  
 _“Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball, where were you while we were getting high?”_  
  
She finally dared to step forward and release her hands from the tension, sliding her fingers into the diaphragm as if she were seeking stability and her eyes again dropped to Lena's to find the book's girl with her chest moving fast in panting breath and her lips parted in stunned and stupefied reaction.  
  
 _“Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky... Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova in the sky…”_  
  
Leslie and Siobhan joined the band with bass and drums, the dynamics rekindling rhythm and constancy on stage. Alex took a deep breath and gripped the microphone stand, looking around again, people stamping their feet, a few pairs starting to dance absentmindedly, like Andrea and Imra, who laughed in a theatrical reverence and began to twirl gracefully since their pairs were on stage.  
  
 _“Wake up the dawn and ask her why a dreamer dreams, she never dies, wipe that tear away now from your eye…”_  
  
Alex almost stammered the lyrics when she realized everyone was dancing under the lights and Lena was still staring at her, the smile shining again, no more surprise, just an uneven enchantment that sends the redhead's heart to the edge of disorderly chaos.  
  
 _“Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball, where were you while we were getting high?”  
  
_ Gayle leaned over and stepped on the pedal to activate the guitar distortion, the powerful sound triggering the clamor on the track and a chorus of encouragement from below, and Russell got up to move with her, their girls suddenly very interested in smile like Lena to the stage.  
  
 _“Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky. Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova…”_  
  
She moved with them, the simple song turning into a show of electrifying energy.  
  
 _“'Cause we don't believe that they're gonna get away from the summer. But you and I, we live and die, the world's still spinning around we don't know why…”_  
  
Russell ran to her side and they shared the microphone happily as Gayle leaned more and more powerfully on the distorted guitar.  
  
 _“Why, why, why, why?”_  
  
The song slowed and the boy winked at her, returning to his post and leaving the blonde soloing for a moment before Alex started singing again. By that point she was already sweaty and energized by the excitement of the band and the audience and Lena's delirious smile. She sang the rest of the song bowing to the book's girl and smiling at her, who occasionally blushed and closed her eyes but couldn't stop smiling.  
  
 _“We were getting high, we were getting high…”_  
  
 _“Uh, uh…”_  
  
Russell returned to make the choir with her and Siobhan followed them, they twirled and raised their arms and for the first time Alex felt genuinely seventeen and on top of the world, singing her heart out to a girl who ripped in her path as a shooting star in the sky.  
  
 _“We were getting high, we were getting high…”_  
  
 _“Uh, uh…”_  
  
The soft drumming marcha began to slow down, until the guitar and bass slowed and muted, then the folk acoustic guitar, until only the rhythmic remnant echoed and echoed and finally stopped, overwhelmed by a wave of cheers and whistles.  
  
While the band bowed and thanked, Alex simply couldn't wait. She jumped off the stage and it felt like a romantic comedy crap, her footsteps unsteady on the marble floor and Lena's steady, running and closing the short space between them, her arms around the redhead's neck and Alex's in her waist, her body bent over the book's girl, and Lena's fingers caressing the back of her neck, hearts racing wild.  
  
"You're insane." Lena whispered, laughing breathlessly.  
  
"Guess I am." She tightened her hold and inhaled the scent, her body starting to calm down numb in the arms of book's girl.  
  
“I can't believe you did this.” Lena leaned back only to caress the redhead's face with trembling hands, unexpected tears glistening on her eyelids. "Agent, your voice..." She laughed again and leaned back against their foreheads, both of them closing their eyes in the process, her voice softening and sweetening. “I have never seen anything so brave and beautiful…”  
  
“Well, it’s not like the most beautiful song in the world, but...”  
  
“You, you silly.” Lena laughed, eyes still closed, foreheads still together, her fingers running over her warm face. "I have never seen anything as beautiful and brave as you."  
  
“Oh.” Alex shrugged. "I don't know if I'm going to look so beautiful because now we'll dance and I'll definitely step on your toes, but I'll do my best."  
  
Lena stepped back to reach out a hand to her. "It will be just fine. I will guide you."  
  
"Really?" Alex blushed.  
  
The book's girl nodded, placing one hand on Alex's shoulder, taking the other with hers and ending with hers on the redhead's waist, the height difference seeming obvious and funny now. The band began to sing other songs and they got caught in the moment of slow melodies and twirls around and silent conversation in their eyes. Alex was surprised by the ease of her movements being guided by Lena's elegant naturalness, which smiled endlessly at her as if she were the most precious thing in the whole world.  
  
Alex wondered if Lena had got the message, if the message made any sense, if she would ignore the message, if she would respond to the damn message, and suddenly she's freaking out because she doesn't even know if Lena heard the song that night on the beach. She has never done this before and she is not entirely sure what all this means, but suddenly she feels insecure and foolish and...  
  
“Alex?” Lena tilted her head and smiled.  
  
"Huh?" She swallowed..  
  
“We've only known each other for five days.” She turned serious and Alex realized they had twirled in the dance to the hallway leading to one of the gardens, the music drowning in the distance. She lost her touch and Lena continued to stare at her solemnly.  
  
“Right...?” Alex rubbed the back of her neck nervously, wondering if this was the moment when the book's girl would say she wants nothing to do with her.  
  
"There are countless things you don't know about me." Lena approaches to take her hand, gently caressing the almost imperceptible scars beneath the bones that have already struck the noses of many bullies. "And as countless as the things I don't know about you."  
  
"Is that bad?" She shrugged and squeezed one eye in fear.  
  
“No, agent, it is not…” Lena smiled again, but looked so sad that it shivered under the redhead's spine. "But this was your last day here and I should.."  
  
"Say I can and I will sneak in between all your afternoon appointments just so I can see you and find out everything about you and let you find out everything about me." Alex interrupted, holding gently on her elbows to bring her closer.  
  
“Alex...” She shook her head, resting her hands flat on the redhead's chest to keep her still. "I'm trying to tell you from the beginning that I..." Suddenly her voice faded and she blinked profusely, her eyelashes fluttering. "I..." She tried again, hoarse and whispering, but lost her reasoning again. "Your heart... It's beating so fast...!" Involuntarily she exclaimed, gasping for a second when their eyes met and there was nothing but surrender in Alex's.  
  
Alex slid up her fingers into her arms until she reached her reddened face and gently cupped her cheeks. “I know.” She nodded, her voice as hoarse as Lena's, and bit her bottom lip. "My mind is recording all your words, I swear, but I can't..."  
  
Lena is the one who won't let her finish this time. She digs her nails into the tuxedo lapel and pushes upward, slamming her lips against the redhead's in a matter of seconds that brake and break time, a crack in physical greatness, cutting and revealing the phenomenon. Alex sighed and leaned over her like the stars above the sky and she felt herself losing all gravity, all scattering and orbiting and disappearing in infinite darkness.  
  
She was dizzy and electrified and if all the absurdities, Midvale High idiots, Hank's punishment, the Academy fight, if all the events dragged her to that same pole, she would do it all over again. Even as they walked away panting, foreheads leaning back, Alex smiled and thought that nothing would return to its place of origin after being kissed by the book's girl.  
  
But the sound of applause and a bitter laugh undid the spell in the blink of an eye.  
  
They turned abruptly to find four silhouettes between the garden and the hall. Three of them Alex recognized, Mike Matthews and his wardrobe guys, but the fourth, looking at them with wide, hurt eyes, just seemed to shock Lena when she sighed and said. “Jack...”  
  
“I told you, man!” Mike pointed accusingly. "I said they came as a couple!"  
  
"What do you have to do with it, clown?" Alex growled, extending an arm protectively in front of Lena.  
  
“Lena...” Jack gasped. “I thought you turned down my invitation because you're leaving tomorrow. Were you lying? All the time you wanted to go with her?”  
  
"Hey!" Alex stepped forward. "I'm sorry you're upset, man, but she doesn't have to ans..." She stopped when the boy's words clicked into her mind. As if everything turned into slow motion, she turned slowly to look at Lena and found the astonished devastation in those eyes that fascinated her from the first moment. "Wait..." The redhead whispered brokenly. "You're leaving?"  
  
“Alex...”  
  
“Where are you going?” She nearly tripped as she stepped away.  
  
Lena closed her eyes for a moment as Jack whimpered and Mike and their friends laughed at the fact that Alex didn't know she was leaving. When she opened them again, Alex's expression was pure desolation and tears stung the book's girl's eyelids before she could stop it. “Boarding school. Germany."  
  
“Oh...” She frowned as if unsure it was real.  
  
"Alex, I tried to tell you..." Lena tried to reach her, but Alex stepped back and raised her hands defensively.  
  
"Don't." She gasped, causing Lena to freeze. “Please, don't. I'm going to... Yeah. ”  
  
"Alex..." Tears streamed down her face and she covered her mouth to contain an anguished sob.  
  
The redhead begins to walk stunned back into the hall, her head exploding with pain and fear, disoriented, as if the world is crumbling around her. The music begins to grow louder as she crosses the corridor, but at the last moment she finally hears the echo of Lena's sob and turns to find her crying desperately, her hands covering her face, her body shaking and cringing.  
  
And the worse, Mike circling her and laughing like a pig. “Oh no, look who was dismissed by the mutt! What is it with you that everyone leaves you, little Luthor?”  
  
All Alex can see is red.  
  
Her boots seemed to poke the floor as she ran back into the garden. She felt her hands like lead, her heart like a bomb, the fury consuming her under a symphony that came from the terrified cry of the girl she liked. She likes Lena. She really likes that girl, damn if she meets her a few days ago, damn if she's leaving tomorrow, because today Alex likes her and she can't handle the pain and anger and nonconformity coexisting and screaming inside her .  
  
She pulled Mike by his tie behind his back and knocked him into the grass, dropping to her knees over him and lowering her arm with a clenched fist. The impact is electric and warm and it hurts so much that she wants to scream when the boy starts screaming and calling for help. For some reason, his friends stand watching, as does Jack, while Lena begs her to stop smashing the idiot's face. She felt Lena's soft hands trying to pull her, but she just couldn't stop herself.  
  
Suddenly everything went dark and the frenzy just stopped.  
  
  
  
When she opened her eyes again, everything had changed around. She was on a stretcher, a bandage wrapped around her fingers, an aspirin pack on the table beside her. She recognized the ward and it was all silence. Rising dizzily and confused, her eyes on the floor, she discerned a pair of firm high heels in front of her, lifting her head to see Miss Grant with her arms crossed and the most severe look she had ever seen.  
  
She considered justifying herself.  
  
She considered apologizing.  
  
She considered running away and looking for Lena.  
  
"I know." She chose to just sigh. "You don't need to bother. It was my last day causing trouble here. Can I go now?”  
  
"You're not leaving this institution alone tonight, Miss Danvers."  
  
"You called my parents?" Alex's eyes widened.  
  
"Your mother is coming." Miss Grant approached. “Fortunately for you, the Matthews were understanding and made no complaints. Again."  
  
"He got what he deserved."  
  
“Oh, should we congratulate you and crown you like a hero then?” The principal arched a sharp brow.  
  
"Can I see Lena?" She ignored the sarcasm.  
  
"According to Jack Spheer's account, I don't think you're so interested in her whereabouts, considering you were more concerned with punching that stupid boy than talking to her."  
  
“I wasn’t thinki...”  
  
"Of course you weren't thinking, Miss Danvers." The elegant blonde rolled her eyes, raising her hands dramatically. “You were disappointed by a fatality that poor girl can't fight and she was too afraid to tell you because she clearly likes you.” She crossed her arms again, stopping like a general in front of the redhead. "Now her father is coming and believe me when I say you don't know the Luthors."  
  
Alex felt tears welling up involuntarily, turning away from those wise and hard eyes. "I would never hurt her on purpose."  
  
"How about you?"  
  
She widened her eyes and turned abruptly to face the woman, noticing her tone and how she was trying to talk to her and not scold her. "What ...?"  
  
"Has anyone ever cared to ask why you're so angry?"  
  
"I'm not." Alex snorted, running from her eyes again. "It's not like I hit anyone randomly, for Batman's sake."  
  
"Look at me, Miss Danvers." Miss Grant commanded and she obeyed with a shudder. “I know you don't come from a violent or absent family. Your grades are enviable and you have many friends. What makes you so angry? ”  
  
Alex felt those damn tears again, but now for another reason. She realized she simply didn't know how to answer the question. She doesn't know why it's so easy to pull her off, why she goes from calm to furious so suddenly, why she gives in and uses her fists to solve a situation whenever she can.  
  
“I’m not.” She repeated as if she could convince herself, trapped in the dead end.  
  
“Go home.” The principal's voice softened but remained commander. "Monday I'll be in Midvale High to talk to you and Hank and we'll find a way to deal with this."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Remember to put some ice on this hand if you don't want to wake up with a tennis racket."  
  
"Yes ma'am." She stood up, eyes guilty, and limped toward the exit.  
  
"And Miss Danvers." The woman sighed and smiled sympathetically as she turned. "Lena Luthor is in the lobby."  
  
Alex almost thanked her because she intended to look for her anyway. She needed to look into those beautiful eyes and say it was all right and apologize for helping ruin their night. She had a lot of things to say, things to sing, things to share. She wanted to kiss her again and confess that she would do everything again just the same way.  
  
Exhausted and still in pain, the redhead crawled into the lobby, gazing at her own wretched reflection in the marble, Miss Grant's words still weighing like anvils on her shoulders.  
  
In the lobby, however, she slipped quickly behind one of the doors for a moment as she saw a tall, elegant man with a long beard and brown hair on his shoulders, gesturing and thundering over Lena, who seemed apathetic and distant, watching to her own shoes.  
  
“Your mother is right, you can't do anything right! Look at the mess you and your silly romance have caused! What a shame! You embarrass us! And you turned down Jack Spheer! Do you know how long we tried to close a partnership with his family's Biospheer Technologies?”  
  
Lena just muttered humbly, her hands clenched together. "I'm sorry, sir."  
  
He grabbed her arm roughly. "What's the use of you being sorry, child?!"  
  
Alex widened her eyes and nearly jumped into the next fight, but suddenly the old man was pulled by his suit and pushed away from her. "Stay away from her!" Lex stepped between them, hiding the book's girl behind him and clenching a fist prepared to pounce if necessary. The redhead involuntarily advanced through the lobby to the entrance, watching the scene with terror in her eyes.  
  
"I am speaking to my daughter!" The patriarch Luthor snarled back, straightening his suit.  
  
"You're drunk!" Lex accused. "You're always drunk, you bastard, and we have an agreement! Lay a hand on my sister again and I swear I'll end you!"  
  
The man grunted to himself and left without another word, leaving the siblings in the cold silence of the night, Lex huffing and walking in circles with one hand on his head as if he was lost.  
  
"You see?" He opens his arms in defeat. "I'm going out to start my research on Frankfurt in a week and I can't leave you with them. That's why I need to keep you in that boarding school. Do you understand that?"  
  
Alex's heart sank.  
  
 _There are countless things you don't know about me._  
  
 _Now her father is coming and believe me when I say you don't know the Luthors._  
  
"I understand, brother." Lena accepted resigned.  
  
Lex sighed tiredly and took off his suit to snuggle around her shoulders. "I'm sorry." He whispered, rubbing her arms gently. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
As if she sensed her presence, Lena looked at Alex in front of the lobby and the redhead could have sworn she saw her tears stubbornly return. She muttered something to Lex, and the young man looked at Alex as if about to shoot her, leaving exasperating to fetch his car.  
  
Lena walked with the same apathy and melancholy to her. Alex now noticed the bag on her shoulder under Lex's suit and the flowers she gave her were nowhere. Not daring to look up at her, Lena handed over the denim jacket, and for Alex to see broken all the magic of that night once and for all, the brooch was damaged, resting on the jacket like a coffin in a grave. She didn't even realize it had fallen while she punched Mike.  
  
So many things Alex wanted to tell her, but all she was able to do was watch as Lena walked back to her brother in the red AM1 Puma. She felt cold, so cold, cold as she hadn't felt in days, as if the heat had been ripped from her. She lifted her denim jacket to her face and breathed in Lena's scent and for a moment it looked like she was going to fall in front of the lobby and stay there until someone came to drag her elsewhere.  
  
It's so bad she barely registers when Samantha and Kara, not her mother, drive her carefully into the family car and the Academy begins to fall behind with all the lights and hopes, the landscapes blurring as they accelerate toward the suburbs. She is sitting in the back seat while Sam drives and Kara looks at her through the rearview mirror with urgent concern.  
  
"Where's mom?" She asked Kara indifferently, looking out the window.  
  
"Sleeping at home." Kara smiled compassionately.  
  
"I got the call and pretended to be her to pick you up." Sam explained.  
  
"Samantha Arias doing something out of line? I'm impressed."  
  
She smiled at her in the rearview mirror with Kara's compassion, knowing that she was trying to keep herself whole, but that something terrible had happened to Eliza being summoned to pick her up at the Academy. Judging by the bandaged hand and jacket with the strange object lying on her lap, they could bet it had something to do with Lena Luthor.  
  
Sam left them at home and whispered to Kara the promise to return the next day with the others to try to cheer the redhead up. Alex walked right past them, clutching her denim jacket and brooch against her chest, bouncing up the steps and trying not to breathe too loudly or break into tears and wake Jeremiah and Eliza.  
  
"Alex, wait!" Kara reached her at the top of the stairs, just before Alex locked himself in her room and didn't leave indefinitely.  
  
"Not now, Kara." She sighed exhausted.  
  
"Please, don't shut me out." The little blonde begs overflowing with worry. "What happened there? Lena didn't like the song? Did you guys get into a fight? Talk to m..."  
  
"I screwed up!" She screamed, gasping for breath. "I just... I screwed up, Kara."  
  
Before Kara could ask her to let go and talk and be honest so she could help her, Alex slammed the door locked and she swore to hear muffled sobs on a pillow for the rest of the night.  
  
  
  
Saturday morning Alex woke up with a stiff neck and weakness, sitting on the floor against the bed, jacket and brooch still on her crooked thighs on the floor. She scrambled to her feet and crawled into the bedroom bathroom, throwing cold water over her face and rubbing her skin as all the events of last night ruthlessly ran over her mind. Back in the untouched bed, she stared at herself in the bedside mirror, her wrinkled suit, reddened eyes, swollen aching hand, and all the truth still crumbling over her head.  
  
She considered spending the day locked and hidden there. Or maybe the month. Or until next year.  
  
But annoying noises suddenly came from the door and she frowned.  
  
"Are you sure what you're doing, man?" It was the whispering voice of James.  
  
"Of course I do." Winn whispered back happily.  
  
"What if she's sleeping or inappropriate to be seen? Respect, Winslow." Dox spoke almost firmly.  
  
"Can I take a picture of her with your dad's camera if she's looking like a zombie?" Nia asked sweetly and a slap cracked with a grunt that she acknowledged came from Kara.  
  
"I'll get some coffee." Sam muttered under his breath.  
  
"I think I got it!" Winn celebrated.  
  
Alex didn't have time to understand what was going on when the door burst open with a loud bang and all of her friends' faces popped up, Lucy's foot still suspended in the air and her sneakers mark in the white paint of the wood.  
  
"That's a stylish entry." Lucy smiled with satisfaction.  
  
"I used my fairy hands to open the lock with a damn staple and you almost decided to break the door?" Winn sighed in disappointment.  
  
"Focus, my friend." Lucy ignored him, entering the room like a hurricane and picking up distressed jeans and Alex's best sweater from the wardrobe and shooting at her. "You, up, now!"  
  
"What...?" Alex blinked disoriented.  
  
"We have exactly twenty minutes to get to the train station for you to plead or apologize or say goodbye to your girl, Danvers, whatever you want to do."  
  
"You guys..." She widened her eyes in surprise. "How...?"  
  
"Winslow and I have obtained, through illegal technological means, access to the data from the Academy students, but it would be very laborious to ask them all. Then, the brilliant Nia Nal recognized a girl, Imra Ardeen, her parents have been partners with the Luthors for years now with Saturn Business & Quo. She was very kind to Kara on the phone and told us almost everything."  
  
Kara spoke up, smiling encouragingly. "We found out only this morning that Lena is going to get the ten o'clock express to Metropolis airport, Imra managed to get the information from Lena's brother."  
  
"Yeah..." Winn looked at the little blonde. "He kind of sent you a message too? How can I put this into words...?"  
  
James laughed and interfered. "He said you better not let his sister go heartbroken or he'll find you and find a way to break yours."  
  
"And no one understands why she's going to take a train since they're so rich they could send her on a private jet and her bags on a private sub both painted the colors of the rainbow, but how nice that makes it easier for us." Nia was the last, shrugging with a wide smile.  
  
"I mean..." Sam was back with the steaming cup of coffee. "If you're willing to go. Are you?"  
  
They all looked expectantly at Alex and suddenly she knew there was no time or need to ponder anything. She wanted to and she would see Lena, even maybe for the last time, even if she had to fire like a rocket to reach her and getting there Lena would refuse to see her. She just needs to see her and let her know that she feels like an idiot and that she cares and that she doesn't want to have her out of her life.  
  
"I can't let her go like this." She exhaled.  
  
"So we're going?" Kara smiled.  
  
"Hell yeah." She began clumsily tearing off her clothes, ignoring all eyes on her, determination taking over every movement and action, just needing to get in time to see her book's girl.  
  
"Let's get Dad's truck." Kara decided.  
  
"Yes!" Lucy ran out, nearly knocking the whole group over. "I'll drive!"  
  
"You what?" Sam nearly choked on her coffee, causing a wave of laughter, remembering how Lucy drove recklessly as they ran around town after what they needed for Alex's suit.  
  
Alex finished dressing, stole Sam's last sip and pinned the crooked brooch to her sweater, denim jacket in her hands and every chance ahead.  
  
  
It was fortunate that Midvale's police and traffic department was so lazy on the weekends, because Lucy Lane was probably bent on breaking every possible law. She drove as if her life depended on it for the train station, Nia laughing sickly in the middle and Sam with her hands on the ceiling and the door, goose bumps and hard as a cat in the cold bath. In the bed, Dox, Winn and James huddled together, tossing like fruit in the bag, while Alex stood firm, the wind on her face, longing to see the train station tower soon, begging Lena to still were there, Kara protected under her arm with the same hope in mind.  
  
Seven minutes to go when Lucy nearly ran over the sign.  
  
They jumped out of the truck at the same time, passing the ticket office, ignoring the salesman's calls, finding the train at the station, the smoke in the locomotive preparing the vehicle to leave.  
  
To the horror of the young brave ones, there was a group of security guards standing before the man Alex recognized as Lena's father and a stern, beautiful woman holding his arm that she assumed was her mother.  
  
"We can't pass." James warned after looking around.  
  
"We need a plan." Winn slammed her fist into his palm.  
  
"I can go the other way, I deal with them." Alex volunteered, euphoric with courage and fear coexisting.  
  
"Yeah, She-Ra." Nia rolled her eyes. "We need to cause a distraction."  
  
"What are we going to do, dance like narcotic acrobats for them?" Lucy frowned.  
  
"Maybe something smarter, but keep the spirit, Lucy." Dox gave her credit, raising a positive thumb.  
  
"Guys!" Kara gave a muffled shout, making everyone look surprised at her. She had taken off her glasses and had her fists clenched, her chin up, orders on the tip of her tongue. “This isn't the time to make a mess. Nia and Dox, you two are going to distract Lena's parents, say you want an interview or are fans of their work, come up with something. Winn and Lucy, you'll be behind the train watching. James and Sam, the platform is high and since there isn't one on the other side, you will suspend Alex so she can reach the window."  
  
"What about you?" Winn observed.  
  
"I'm my sister's emotional support." She shrugged as if it were obvious. "Are we clear?"  
  
"Yo ho, Captain!" Lucy smiled and everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
Nia and Dox left, starting an enthusiastic scandal on the Luthors, taking their attention and the curiosity of the security guards on the platform. Winn and Lucy gave the others a green light to cross down and they crept in a row to the other side of the train, Kara running discreetly in the distance to look for Lena's cabin, hoping she was on their side while Alex, Sam and James peered closer.  
  
"Lena...!" Kara almost exclaimed with relief, finding a girl with her face sunk in a quantum physics book in the left corner of the cabin. Alex turned abruptly when she heard her and began running as quietly as he could to the second car in front of the train. Kara jumped and tapped on the window. "Lena, it's us!"  
  
Lena raised her face with furrowed brows and it was not surprising that Kara saw the girl's reddened eyes, pale skin of insomnia and saddened expression, which immediately lit up when she saw her. She opened the window down, looking out of the cabin for fear that her parents would decide to show up to check.  
  
"Kara Danvers..." She exhaled, knowing that Kara being there could only mean one thing.  
  
"Hi." Kara flashed her sunny smile under the window, making room for the other three approaching.  
  
Alex braked hard, lips parted, clothes clutched, and the brooch hung gleaming in her sweater. Their eyes met and she saw surprise, fear of rejection, relief, full happiness, longing, all exploding in a thousand shades of green in her irises.  
  
"Book's girl..." The redhead smiled stunned.  
  
"Agent..." Lena smiled, melting at the affectionate nickname.  
  
Sam and James wasted no time, the quarterback bridging his fingers entwined for Alex to rise, placing one thigh on his shoulder and the other on Sam's, Kara helping them to stabilize as Alex leaned against the window.  
  
She had prepared the most beautiful speech, but when Lena touched and held her face and that beautiful smile was all she could see, the redhead pulled her gently by the nape of her neck and fell onto her lips in absolution, Lena accepting the kiss as if they ever did that, and the feeling was again between numbness and euphoria, tingling in their mouths and tongues, on their toes, on the ends of their strands, as thrilling as the fateful last night.  
  
"You're here..." Lena exhaled against her, eyes closed, kissing her again and again and Alex didn't want her to ever stop. "Alex, I'm so..."  
  
"No, please, I'm the one who should be sorry." The redhead shook her head, anguish slipping from her throat. "I'm so sorry, Lena, I should never have reacted like I did, I should never have left you there for me to hit that idiot..."  
  
"I should have told you..." Lena whimpered, her feverish face sinking under Alex's jaw.  
  
"And I should've just taken you out for a ride under the stars and I'd kiss you and say I'll write to you whenever I can while you're there." Alex rumbled and leaned in to touch Lena under her chin. "I should've been better because you deserve better and I shouldn't have behaved like an uncontrollable brute and I'm so ashamed..."  
  
"You have nothing to be ashamed of." Lena held her face and the sincerity in her voice was like a sweet prayer. “You listen to me, Alexandra Danvers. You have a brilliant mind and you’re funny and kind and so good, so much more than fists covered in scars and a reputation for rowdy. You never let it define you, because it's not who you are.”  
  
Alex was the one who brought her in for the kiss this time, unable to find the words, all the excuses or explanations seemed futile, because Lena was there, almost in her arms, kissing and caressing her and smiling at her, smiling from the heart, like if nothing bad could happen in the light of that smile. "I know there are a lot of things we don't know about each other, but I know that no matter how harsh your family is and how hard they may be, they don't define you either."  
  
A lone tear trickled down Lena's face as she smiled more wildly than ever, her hands resting on the redhead's heaving chest. "For every second I shared with you, I completely forgot what the Luthors could be like."  
  
Kara remembered Alex saying she hadn't been in fights since Lena and smiled with the thought that a person alone could just get someone else out of the biggest torments they keep inside.  
  
"I get why you're going and why you didn't tell me." Alex's fingers ached tight at the window and she knew her friends were trying hard to hold her up. The engineer announced the departure in a minute and there seemed to be so much to say yet. "And I would do everything exactly the same way to meet you and make you laugh and fall for you..."  
  
Lena widened her eyes, coming back to stare at her with her mouth open and fascinated. "Fall for me..."  
  
Alex smiled peacefully in acceptance. "You got me, Lena Luthor. I fell for you in measly five days."  
  
Lena pulled her to kiss again, knowing that the last minute emptied like sand between her fingers. She touched the reddish hair, the cheeks, the jaw, the chest, the brooch, the sweater, wanting to memorize everything. "I don't want to go..." She broke the kiss with anguish and fear.  
  
"You'll be great there." Alex wiped a few more runaway tears from her, holding on to the window with one hand. "You'll be the smartest girl there and you'll make new friends and become the most brilliant scientist the world has ever seen."  
  
"Agent..." She shuddered when she heard the engineer closing the doors.  
  
Alex dropped a hand to ask for the denim jacket that was with Kara, placing it in the space inside the train. "And I'll keep my promise to write whenever I can. I'll stay around to see you conquering the whole world. And we'll see each other again."  
  
"You promise?" Lena asked shyly, eyes sparkling with contained tears.  
  
"I promise." Alex kissed her once more, the last time, leaning their foreheads for one more instant of comfort and tenderness. "I'll always be with you, book's girl."  
  
James and Sam were starting to lower her back when Lena touched her fingers to the window, finally seeming to be free of melancholy, that all-knowing smile making Alex's heart go crazy. "You opened the world for me, Alexandra Danvers. And it will never be closed again."  
  
The locomotive threw smoke into the air and they watched the train begin to move on the tracks, Lena at the window with tears and smiles, and Kara, Sam and James waving at her as Alex stumbled a few missed steps as if she was trying to follow the path of the train.  
  
Like a flaw in the perfect plan, the train cleared the view and the Luthors and their security guards saw the whole group crowded across and behind the train. Lena's father frowned dangerously, as did his wife, and Nia swallowed, grabbing Dox's arm. "Time flies, doesn't it?" She laughed hysterically. "I think we better get going..."  
  
"Intercept these children!" Shouted the angry man.  
  
It was a jumble of steps and exclamations. Nia and Dox staggered up the stairs to get off the platform and ran to the car, the Luthors security guards jumped off the platform and started chasing Alex, Kara, Sam and James around the tracks. Lucy grabbed Winn's shoulder and they crept over to the car.  
  
"Lu, what are we going to do?!" Nia was alarmed looking in the rearview mirror, Winn and Dox cringing safely in the back.  
  
"Something bad." Lucy turned the key and pulled out of the parking lot, rolling the truck, the tires scorching the ground and leaving long black marks on the asphalt. She ordered Nia to buckle up and the boys hold on tight and slammed down on the accelerator, driving across the parking lot and breaking behind the station, smashing the fragile railing and moving along the gravel beside the tracks.  
  
Sam was the first to hear the horn in the chaos and she pulled Kara to run and jump in the truck with her, but James and Alex were being chased as a frantic patriarch Luthor shouted his wife almost watching with amusement. James jumped like the talented athlete he was, thinking Alex was right behind him, but her body was still fatigued and she was about to be caught by the guard.  
  
Dox surprised them as he stood and cupped his hands around his mouth, screaming at the top of his lungs. "QUARTERBACK!"  
  
James got the message and immediately turned, leaning over and running toward them, Alex jumping sideways at the last second as the boy collided and dropped the security guard on the ground, who grunted in surprise and pain. James ran back to her, leaped into the truck's body and clumsily pulled her up, Lucy barely giving them time before speeding and turning, finally escaping and heading back to the quiet streets of Midvale.  
  
  
It only took a minute for them to recover and start laughing, all sweaty and panting, all telling at the same time their impressions of the adventure, excited and euphoric, comparing the act to Hollywood action movies. The car was stable and Lucy put on a song as if they were simply taking a walk together toward the beach on a summer day.  
  
For a second, Alex was focused on them and the complicity they offered.  
  
Lucy parked at the Danvers residence and Nia took the opportunity to actually propose an afternoon at the beach. James joked that they could use a good bath. Winn complained that they should have filmed the chase. Kara sighed at the romantic scene in the train window. Sam said she hoped Lena Luthor would be all right. Dox checked his pockets and revealed that he thought his glasses fell as he ran from the platform.  
  
And as they walked to the porch of the house, Alex stood behind, her back on the car's hood, his eyes on the floor, all going back inside her and hitting her like the damn train she'd just seen disappearing on the horizon.  
  
"Alex...?" Sam called worriedly.  
  
She looked up and the group gasped in surprise when they saw the tears flowing freely on her face. She didn't seem to be recognizing them, not really, and she walked lost until she was sitting on the wooden porch steps, those eyes on her not knowing what they should do. She sobbed but didn't cover her face or run away, she let herself be watched, let their genuine concern and affection cross her exhausted body and her overburdened soul.  
  
She has never cried in front of them before.  
  
"Hey..." Kara sat next to her, touching her shoulder. "What is it?"  
  
"She's gone." She confessed the agony. "She's gone and I have to figure out why I'm so angry." Watery eyes met Kara's bright blue and Alex shrugged.  
  
Sam sat on the other side and touched her tight hand to her shrunken knees. "Everything will be fine. She'll be fine and we'll figure it out together."  
  
"We?" Alex frowned.  
  
Lucy jumped to sit behind her and rested her chin on her hair. "You bet we will."  
  
Nia made room to sit between her legs and eased the grip on her trembling knees, smiling at the obvious confirmation. Dox, Winn, and James gathered around, and all those true smiles joined the journey in tacit agreement. She cried even more and nodded with a quivering smile, squinting to settle and accept all they offered, all that her best friends had ever offered.  
  
She didn't know how she would begin to understand the aggressiveness and the passion that, in very different ways, dwelt within her, not even how she should deal with the discoveries ahead.  
  
But she decided at that moment to believe that everything would be all right.  
  
  
  
For the world was now open.  
  
And it would never be closed again.  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for getting here! This could have a sequence, I believe.
> 
> Find me on twitter: @dokkstormur
> 
> P.S.: I'm sorry if this bothered any of you, but I wanted to leave out the subject of discovering teenage sexuality. I really wanted to get away from this and bring up other questions, lightly.


End file.
